The Dynamics of Security Sector Reform in Liberia

Abstract

Security Sector Reform (ssr) is one of the key mechanisms of the UN norms of liberal peacebuilding. After the end of a 14-year-long civil war, ssr in Liberia has faced enormous challenges but opened a new space for peace and democracy for the people. Under the comprehensive supervision of the USA, two private military companies, DynCorp International and Pacific Architects and Engineers (pae), have played a pivotal role in army reform. Alternatively, unmil has been involved in police reform, which has not been considered successful enough. Furthermore, this study has observed that before ssr, disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (ddr) was not properly managed, which has had a pessimistic impact on ssr. The study has also found that the reformed army and police have been strongly criticised due to a lack of local ownership and citizen oversight, gender inequality, and poor democratic control. Nevertheless, beyond its limitations, the study shows that ssr has achieved a mixture of success in the current security, stability and peace in Liberia.