The life, death and diversity of pro-government militias: The fully revised pro-government militias database version 2.0

This article presents version 2.0 of the Pro-Government Militias Database (PGMD). It is increasingly clear that it is untenable to assume a unified security sector, as states often rely on militias to carry out security tasks. The PGMD 2.0 provides new opportunities for studying questions such as when states rely on militias, how they chose among different types and the consequences for stability and peace. We detail how the PGMD 2.0 provides new information on the characteristics, behaviour, life cycle and organization of 504 pro-government militias across the globe between 1981 and 2014.

Kabore's latest moves in Burkina Faso may buy time

Significance This forms part of a broader reform of government and the security sector begun in recent months and accelerated by the military’s worst single loss so far in its six-year battle against jihadist insurgents. Kabore seems for the moment to have weathered the resulting wave of street protests and opposition mobilisation. Impacts Kabore’s vulnerabilities will spur both allied and opposition parties to reassess their political strategies. Anti-French sentiment will rise and fall with general insecurity, partly due to disinformation campaigns. Insecurity will persist and perhaps worsen in the short term, despite sweeping military personnel changes.

CONTEXT OF RELIGION SECURITIZATION: CASES OF ARTSAKH AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Securitization of religion, or consideration of religion within the context of the security sector, has returned to the Slovak and Serbian context in connection with the migration crisis. This paper is mostly theoretical, and the question of religious identity is categorized under the sector of societal security. Unlike other conflicts of identity, religion is polarizing, and religious conflicts feature the destruction of cultural heritage and religious monuments. Religious conflicts can be observed among both believers of different religious groups as well as among different denominations of one particular religion. The last section deals with the particular cases of Artsakh and Northern Ireland. In the former conflict, nationalism and overlapping territorial claims play a key role, but the later conflict can be better understood as a hierarchical ethnic conflict.

A kingdom with many internal facets: power, politics and instability in a post-colonial state. Ramifications for public stability

Lesotho offers an exciting case study for the analysis of the interface between power, politics and instability. Since gaining its independence from Britain in 1966, Lesotho has over the last five decades been plagued by persistent political instability that has paved way for the breakdown of the rule of law, gross human rights violations, underdevelopment and insecurity where at times the security sector like the Lesotho Defence Force has taken over several key institutions in the country. Political instability in the tiny kingdom has been a daunting agenda for all concerned actors, including political parties, civil society, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other continental stakeholders. While the security sector of any state is of importance, it becomes problematic if it becomes involved in a state’s political affairs. The repercussions of such trajectories of governance have been quite profound for democratic stability and security. Using a qualitative methodology, supplemented by secondary data, this article seeks to unearth Lesotho’s political instability, the role of its security forces and continental actors in its continuous internal governance crisis post the colonial era. The article rightfully shows that The power, possessed by both the military and police, has made them have a robust role in state affairs rather than institutions, mandated to safeguard Lesotho’s citizens. The legitimacy of the security sector underpins restructuring, transparent and accessible security sectors enhance healthy civil-military relations. Restructuring a state’s security and political dynamic reforms is not an easy task, it requires a state managerial and dedication prowess and assistance from different role players and therefore an ample amount of time and effort is invested in the coordination of this process.

Mozambique party politics may trump national interest

Significance There is broad consensus that security sector reform is necessary, but lingering concern that the government lacks a coherent plan, and will end up being distracted by other issues. Impacts The economic crisis resulting from the debt crisis will continue to put the government under severe fiscal pressure. Small amounts of gas should begin to be exported in 2022, but uncertainty over the timelines for larger projects will persist. Mozambique’s relations with neighbours should continue to improve over the immediate term.

Public-private partnership in the security sector

The purpose of the study is to identify possible ways to implement the idea of public-private partnership in the security sector by solving such research problems as highlighting the forms of public-private partnership in the security sector and characteristics of their application; identification of objects of a public-private partnership with the security sector; outlining the directions for resolving disputes arising from public-private partnerships in the security sector. In the implementation of this study, general and specialized methods of scientific cognition were applied: the system analysis method, the dialectical method, the formal-logical method, and the structural-functional method, as well as several empirical methods. The authors concluded that there is no normatively determining procedure for cooperation between public and private entities in the security sector. The results of the research are interesting and useful for Ukrainian legislators and subjects of public administration. The results of the research are interesting and useful for Ukrainian legislators and subjects of public administration.