ABSTRACT

Justice and Security Reform: Development Agencies and Informal Institutions in Sierra Leone undertakes a deep contextual analysis of the reform of the country’s security and justice sectors since the end of the civil war in 2002. Arguing that the political and bureaucratic nature of development agencies leads to a lack of engagement with informal institutions, this book examines the challenges of sustainably transforming security and justice in fragile states. Through the analysis of a post-conflict context often held up as an example of successful peacebuilding, Lisa Denney reveals how the politics of development agencies is an often forgotten constraint in security and justice reform and development efforts more broadly.

Particularly suited to upper-level undergraduates and postgraduate students, as well as practitioners, this book is relevant to those interested in security and justice reform and statebuilding, as well Sierra Leone’s post-conflict recovery.

chapter |14 pages

Introduction

chapter Chapter 1|28 pages

The UK's ‘African albatross’ 1

DFID policy on Sierra Leone

chapter Chapter 3|25 pages

A thickening blue line

Challenges of informal policing for the Family Support Units

chapter Chapter 4|28 pages

Courting local justice

DFID's Justice Sector Development Programme

chapter Chapter 5|28 pages

Security and justice reform

Political and bureaucratic constraints

chapter Chapter 6|14 pages

Conclusion

Living with or overcoming political and bureaucratic confines