This Think Piece prepared by Niagalé Bagayoko for the Learning Lab on Security Sector Governance in Africa addresses the implications of hybrid security for Security Sector Reform (SSR). After presenting the challenges institutions operating alongside or within nominally formal political institutions bring to SSR, the author calls for better identifying the interactions and interpenetrations of formal and informal networks that constitute as a whole “hybrid security orders”.
In order to build a better understanding of all the actors, particularly informal actors, who have an influence on the security sector at large and can thus affect SSR processes, the author proposes some entry points: to map out the informal actors and the informal norms, solidarities, and networks in the security sector; to build capacity to orient their activities towards supporting SSR; to help develop empirically grounded programmes and policies; and to help in the design of oversight as well as monitoring and evaluation processes.
Think Piece No 5_Hybrid Security.pdf