Promoting Inclusive, Accountable, and Legitimate Political Settlements in Africa: A Case Study of Security Provision in Kenya and Sudan
Programs and partnerships
Lead institution(s)
Summary
The 2011 World Development Report, Conflict, Security, and Development, underscored the far-reaching and devastating impact of violent conflict on a country's social fabric, economy, and governance.Read more
The 2011 World Development Report, Conflict, Security, and Development, underscored the far-reaching and devastating impact of violent conflict on a country's social fabric, economy, and governance. Some impacts are tangible, including deaths, injuries, displacement, refugee flows, infrastructure destruction, social services disruption, and declining trade and investment. Others are less visible. They include shattered norms, mistrust of state actors (in particular, security forces), and increasing social polarization. This project aims to contribute to African-led approaches to peace-building and state-building. It will do so by examining lessons from Kenya and Sudan's political settlements experience. Researchers will examine the role that security sector reforms played in the success or failure of these settlements. More specifically, researchers will: -detail experiences of integrating security and security sector reforms into political settlements; -analyze the 2005 Sudan Comprehensive Peace Agreement and its implementation in South Sudan; -identify security reform implementation challenges and weaknesses in Kenya and South Sudan; and, -make policy recommendations to help develop more effective and inclusive political settlements in other parts of Africa. Researchers will argue that while addressing the tangible aspects of violent conflict is important, addressing the less tangible aspects is critical to avoiding conflict relapse. Public confidence in state security forces must be rebuilt to ensure success. This project will analyze the post-2007 electoral violence in Kenya and highlight how formal and informal security institutions' role, performance, and reforms were essential to avoiding a relapse into violence. Researchers will examine the lessons learned from Kenya's 2008 National Accord, a political settlement negotiated to resolve the post-2007 presidential election violence. For comparative purposes, the project will also assess how Sudan's Comprehensive Peace Agreement, and its implementation in South Sudan, enabled (or failed to enable) transformation. Saferworld Kenya will work with Local Capacities for Peace International to carry out the study. The results will be shared with policymakers and donors through Saferworld and its partners' networks in Kenya and internationally.