ABSTRACT
The elusive and contradictory nature of SSR as a guiding vision and a policy approach is reflected in the fundamental debates that have developed surrounding the concept. The most important strands of these debates concern:
. The definition of what a ‘security sector’ entails: which institutions and actors should be seen as belonging to it, and which not? For example, whether nonstate actors should be included or more fundamentally, whether the conceptual distinction between a state sphere of actors versus ‘non-state actors’ is appropriate at all, in particular in post-conflict settings and in areas of fragile statehood.
. The identification of the donors, or ‘external actors’: should only the explicit programmes run by international bodies, intergovernmental organizations, development banks or foreign aid organizations be taken into account, so to speak as ‘SSR proper’, or should initiatives taken by private companies, foundations, and domestic grassroots actors also be included?
