S1 Ep5: What works? Effective security sector reform in conflict situations

State violence and repression can be a particular problem in conflict and post-conflict societies. Constructing democratic and legitimate public authority is vital to overcome this. This means ensuring that the state is not a vehicle for rentier interest groups. And that the unique right to legitimately use force it enjoys is subject to democratic control. 

This makes the reform of state security services, so that they work under legitimate public authorities, vital to bringing about a sustainable peace. 

In this podcast we explore these issues and ask how security services can be reformed to work in the public good. We look at what lessons we can draw from the societies we study on the Conflict Research Programme and take a closer look at cases of Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

Featuring Sarah Detzner, a consultant based in Washington DC and a fellow at the World Peace Foundation, Michel Thill, PhD Fellow at Ghent University, and Mulugeta Berhe, a Senior Fellow with the World Peace Foundation and former Ethiopian politician. 

This podcast series has been funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office as part of the Conflict Research Programme.

Producers: Luke Cooper, Azaria Morgan
Sound editor: Ben Higgins Millner

Intro music: The Drama by Rafael Krux (used for education purposes under Creative Commons License).