CRU

Breaking the wave: critical steps in the fight against crime in Guatemala

With a new president taking power in January 2012, the paper examines the huge challenges facing Guatemala as it seeks to fight new waves of criminal violence, reduce one of the world's highest murder rates and save its institutions from corruption. On the basis of a review of the history of Guatemalan and Central American security and justice reforms, the paper highlights the three outstanding issues that must be tackled if any long-lasting reduction in the crime rate is to be achieved: technical sophistication, internal institutional oversight and sustainability. It also explores the prospects and dangers of a more combative, military-led approach from the incoming government, whose head was a leading member of the counter-insurgent campaign of the 1980s. Read more

Seminar on the Sudans, 19 January 2012

For Sudan, the year 2011 marked a momentous chapter in the country's history. In a referendum on 9 January, the population of Southern Sudan voted for separation from the North, leading to the establishment of an independent Southern state in July. On Thursday 19 January 2012, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Sub-Saharan Africa Department (DAF) and the Clingendael Conflict Research Unit (CRU) jointly organize a seminar that brings together a divergent group of researchers, policy makers, military officials and civil society practitioners to explore and discuss the main implications of Sudan's partition. Read more�

Consolidating Libya's New Dawn

The Importance of Supporting Early Security and Justice. Libya's interim National Transitional Council is tasked to initiate the complex and sensitive post-conflict transition that lies before Libya in support of democratization, economic development and the rule of law. The overall effort will be a daunting one in a country where such processes were prevented or oddly and brutally interpreted by the eccentric Muammar al-Qaddafi to the benefit of his family and supporters. This policy brief articulates some of the immediate post-conflict challenges affecting security and justice sector reform in an environment that will be particularly challenging. The policy brief stresses that the international community will have to take a particular mindset and approach to providing external security and justice sector assistance. National authorities should also work closely with non-state and other domestic actors to ensure that Libya's future security and justice sector is based upon a common vision and local community-level expectations. Read more�

CRU Policy Brief: Supporting the Syrian summer

Supporting the Syrian Summer: Dynamics of the Uprising and Considerations for International Engagement

Since the Syrian uprising started in March 2011, President Bashar al-Assad�s regime has reacted with increasing brutality against the opposition movement demanding regime change. International condemnation has steadily grown throughout the crisis, resulting in recent calls for Bashar al-Assad to step aside. Syrian protesters have shown great resilience , and continue to flock to the streets in their thousands. Outside the country Syrians have also come out to support the uprising. Syrian activists, traders and politicians in exile are preparing for a post-Assad polity.

This policy brief provides an introduction to the Syrian case, an overview of key players and an analysis of the dynamics of the uprising. Subsequently, a number of considerations are presented to the international community for engaging with the Syrian opposition both domestically and abroad, and for building a constructive response to the crisis. Read more

A Community Dilemma: DDR and the changing face of violence in Colombia

Colombia has stood at the forefront of debate across Latin America and the world on how chronic armed violence can be combated. Its programmes of Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration (DDR) have aimed to put over 50,000 ex-combatants from paramilitary forces and guerrilla movements back into civilian life. But a rising tide of criminal violence has swept up former paramilitary fighters and is seizing control of Colombia�s many sources of illicit wealth, with cocaine production and trafficking at their heart. While thousands are still enrolled in reintegration courses, this paper asks what more the Colombian government, civil society and the international community can do to ensure that the demobilization process does not end in failure. The paper, based on extensive field research, argues that an essential first step is to ensure local communities are engaged, respected and protected. Read more �

The EU�s Support to Security System Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Perceptions from the field in Spring 2010

This case study report � based on interviews and fieldwork conducted in Spring 2010 � describes the EU set-up for supporting SSR in the DRC, highlighting its advantages and disadvantages, and the successes and challenges of implementing EU SSR policy in practice. It seeks to analyse, from a theoretical and practical SSR perspective, to what extent the EU�s structural organisation, its approach and the ways it uses its tools allows it to effectively support the long-term and complex process that SSR is, particularly in conflict-affected or fragile states. The objective of the report is to contribute to the current debate on EU support to SSR whilst the changes brought about by the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty are worked out. This case study report is part of a broader project which seeks to analyse the effectiveness of the EU's support to SSR. Previous reports published as part of the project are:

The Early warning and Conflict prevention Capability of the Council of the European Union.

In the mid-1990s, the Rwandan genocide and the atrocities in former Yugoslavia enhanced international attention for the concept of early warning and underscored the importance of adequate systems to predict, prevent and respond to the eruption of violent conflict. Around that same time, the European Union (EU) gained an increasingly prominent role on the international stage and started to build up its capacity to forecast crisis situations and, where possible and appropriate, take action accordingly. In line with its fundamental values, the EU vowed to give the highest political priority to improving the effectiveness and coherence of its external action in the field of conflict prevention. As part of the first phase of a larger research project under the Initiative for Peacebuilding � Early Warning (IfP-EW), this working paper provides an overview of existing early warning and conflict prevention bodies and instruments within the Council of the EU, depicting the state of affairs before the enactment of the Lisbon Treaty. It also identifies a number of possible gaps in and limitations of the Council�s early warning and conflict prevention architecture so as to inform further research. Read more �

CRU Policy brief: Increasing Security in DR Congo: Gender-Responsive Strategies for Combating Sexual Violence

Sexual violence in the DRC is gendered. Not only is this violence gendered in how it is performed, but also in how it can be fought against. Prevailing over gender related violence means dismantling the ongoing tensions between men and women related to prescribed gender norms, roles, and identities. In providing this analysis, this brief aims to inform donors, as well as (international) non-governmental organizations (I-NGOs) how an intensified focus on the gender-dimensions of violence will improve programmatic effectiveness in the fight against sexual violence in the DRC context. Read more �

Kosovo�s new map of power: governance and crime in the wake of independence

The nationalist euphoria that greeted Kosovo�s declaration of independence in 2008 has given way to acute international concern over the character of this new Balkan state. Alleged corruption, abuses of power, murky ties between politicians and business, authoritarian reactions to the media and the continuing existence of inter-ethnic tensions in the flashpoint of north Mitrovica point to serious weaknesses in the country�s capacity for responsible and accountable governance. Recent reports of senior politicians� involvement in wartime atrocities have only served to deepen the gloom. But this portrait of the country obscures other crucial developments. This report highlights the fundamental obstacles in the way of reform as well as the signs of change in the attitudes of Kosovo�s citizenry towards malfunctioning institutions, exemplified in the elections of December 2010. It concludes by offering some recommendations for donors that would strengthen mechanisms for domestic accountability in Kosovo on the basis of a realistic assessment of the way power is handled and distributed. Read more �

Local Justice and Security Programming in Selected Neighborhoods in Colombia

The Clingendael Conflict Research Unit examines the role of non-state security and justice providers and the options for donors to support their services as part of broader SSR programming. This case study focuses on Colombia, where local actors such as Justices of the Peace and Community Development Boards often provide services of justice and security to local neighbourhoods. Effectively, the state has delegated the authority to do so to them and in a situation where large parts of the population do not trust the state and have no access to formal structures that provide justice and security, these local actors are an important ingredient for the day-to-day provision of justice and security. This report investigates the role of these types of actors in Colombia, and argues that while support to centralized institutions is important, programming aiming to improve justice and security needs to take into account the crucial role played by local actors. It discusses the set-up and activities of these actors, their linkages with the state, and the opportunities and risks as well as entry-points and programmatic alternatives for donors to support them. If you are interested in this topic please visit our website again by mid-2011 when two more case studies will follow focusing on Burundi and Eastern DR Congo. Read more �