Meeting the Challenges of Security Sector Reform

For the second time, the German Federal Foreign Office and the IFSH’s Research and Knowledge Transfer Office Security Sector Reform (SSR Hub) hosted a round table on security sector reform. On 8 February, German and international governmental officials, representatives of (international) organisations, policy experts and researchers came together at the Federal Foreign Office.

With its SSR approach, the German government aims to support security forces such as the military or the police and supervisory authorities in partner countries so the security sector can operate transparently and according to the rule of law and thus guarantee security for the entire population. Countries like Russia, China or Turkey regularly pursue other interests and rely on different approaches in conflict-affected partner countries. In light of this, the round table offered an opportunity to discuss how Germany and its partners can support and advance security sector reform (SSR) processes in partner countries when the international environment is increasingly characterized by rivalry and competition.

The event took place in the context of the German Interministerial Strategy to Support Security Sector Reform (SSR), published in 2019, in which the German government “strives for stronger links with national and international SSR actors, and correspondingly seeks to enhance its consultation mechanisms.”

Click here to learn more about the SSR-Hub-project.