For about a decade international actors have made efforts to reform the security sector of the small West African state of Guinea-Bissau. They aim to combat political instability, extensive lawlessness and a missing social and economic development. The awareness of the problem was intensified when Guinea-Bissau became a transit country for drug trafficking and irregular migration to Europe. But in spite of all efforts the successes of the reform in judiciary, the military and the police sector, have been mediocre at best. Why are international reform concepts failing?
In the latest PRIF-Report No. 135 "Setting the Model Reforming Policing in Guinea-Bissau", Christoph Kohl sets out to find the causes. He examines the attempts at reform and analyzes the international reform concepts on the one hand and the perceptions, logics and expectations of local actors on the other hand. Finally he holds "translation problems" between these differing realities responsible for the failure of the reforms.
This PRIF Report was published as HSFK-Report No. 6/2014 ("Translationsprobleme in der Reform des Polizeisektors in Guinea-Bissau") in German.
The Report can be ordered at PRIF for EUR 10,- and is also available as free PDF download.