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Security sector stabilisation

​Speakers:

Ben Lovelock: Principal author, UK Stabilisation Unit’s Security Sector Stabilisation Approach

Andrew Rathmell: Honorary Visiting Professor, Exeter University and Director, Aktis Strategy Ltd.

A core challenge for the security and justice sectors in fragile and conflict-affected states is how to both enhance security and make political progress in contexts where the capability and legitimacy of the political authority is lacking and where the environment is characterised by turbulent politics, persistent political violence and weak organisational and institutional capacity.

To grapple with this challenge, Dr Ben Lovelock, principal author of the UK Stabilisation Unit’s Security Sector Stabilisation (SSS) approach will discuss how SSS seeks to address political power and conflict together, through a tightly coordinated approach to both political and security actors in order to reduce violence, make people safer and create political space for dialogue. He will reflect on the topical challenge of connecting technical programming activity with political outcomes as essential in preparing for transition to longer-term security sector reform.

Dr Andrew Rathmell will respond by providing critical insights into how external security assistance can be designed and managed to positively influence conflict dynamics, rather than – as often happens – either exacerbating conflict or wasting the investment. Fundamental challenges remain in making assistance programmes actively political, both in their intent and their implementation. The security sector assistance community needs to adopt new approaches and methods to address these challenges if it is to succeed in future stabilisation environments.

About the speakers:

Dr Ben Lovelock is a former Royal Marines officer whose scholarly interest is the politico-security dimension of contemporary peace and stability operations. He has had wide exposure to conflict environments in the Balkans, Iraq and the Occupied Palestinian Territories and as a Senior Security and Justice Adviser with the SU he has undertaken assignments in Afghanistan, Africa and the United Kingdom.

Dr Andrew Rathmell is an Honorary Visiting Professor at Exeter University and Director of Aktis Strategy Ltd. He has been writing on the political economy of security sectors since the early-1990s and has led major security sector assistance programmes in conflict environments and transitional countries including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Africa. His publications include books and articles on Middle Eastern security services and on stabilisation policy and practice.

This is an event in the following series: Security and justice seminar series

How to register

Watch the recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3L1S8sVCwI