This memo summarises research on security and justice from CRP’s five sites – DRC, Iraq, Somalia, South Sudan, and Syria – plus additional research on Sudan. Findings suggests that standard strategies for security and justice reform are routinely undermined by the dynamics of conflict. Security Sector Reform (SSR) and Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration (DDR) policies often end up providing a mechanism through which different factions engaged in conflict can compete for funding, status, and participation…

The Politics of Numbers: On Security Sector Reform in South Sudan, 2005-2020 is the first comprehensive study of what has happened to South Sudan’s military forces since the end of the Sudanese second civil war in 2005. Based on extensive fieldwork in the country, the report argues that all of the international community’s efforts to create a unified armed forces in South Sudan have paradoxically only escalated the process of fracturing that led to the current…

This Issue Brief examines the history of Sudan’s militia strategy and the role of militias in the country’s armed conflicts, notably in Darfur and the Two Areas of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. It discusses the use of para-military forces and militias in Sudan from the 1980s until the present day, including their alleged roles in resource exploitation. It then examines the long-term economic, political, and social costs of the militia strategy for the Sudanese…

Taking into account lessons learned from previous DDR and SSR attempts, this document provides hints as to what the key aspects are that need to be re-considered to improve on security sector transformation in South Sudan. Download

This review provides an in-depth analysis into the new National Security Bill, focusing primarily on resultant public opinion and what the new law constitutes for the South Sudanese general constituency as it complements and cements the existing operational culture of the National Security Service (NSS).

This paper (2012) reviews the recent evolution of the security forces, especially during the last two years. It considers current and evolving threats, including border conflict with the Government of Sudan (GoS), militia and proxy forces, inter- and intra-ethnic fighting, and security force cohesion. It looks at development challenges, including competition for resources and a lack of individual capacity. It also examines outdated mindsets and conflicting priorities. Download

This research aims to analyze the dynamic between community security and security promotion initiatives. In the case of South Sudan, it aims to analyze what interaction takes place between community security and specific programmes such as the DDR programme, community disarmament and, to the extent mentioned by respondents at the grassroots level, SSR. Download

This paper from 2010 reviews the successes and shortcomings of the SPLA’s defence transformation process from 2006 to 2010. It takes into account decisions, events, processes, programmes, and doctrine relating to SPLA transformation and development from 2006 onward. In so doing, it identifies a transformation gap that has become evident between SPLA requirements and defence reform initiatives. Download

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