The Conceptual–Contextual Gap between Non-recurrence and Transformative Police Reform in Post-Conflict States

Abstract

Abstract The idea of a systemic and holistic approach to police reform that addresses larger structural issues, such as poverty or discrimination against marginalized groups, is an attractive one. It is understandable that reformers and critics aspire to develop police forces that are so well-trained, transparent, and open to external oversight that responsiveness to community needs broadly understood becomes second nature. However, it is not enough to identify the needs of the most marginalized—policy-makers must identify where and how aspirations for change fit the domestic political economy in the security sector. This article has outlined a conceptual–contextual gap in policebuilding, pin-pointing three other main barriers to transformation (i) the necessary preoccupation with and diversion of resources to technical reform, (ii) the need to deal with immediate post-conflict security needs, and (iii) a political economy that does not support the type of responsive, socially democratic culture where transformative policebuilding becomes feasible.