News
CRU Policy Brief: The Egyptian 25 January Revolution at Year One: Challenges and opportunities in the transition towards democracy
April 4, 2012. The Egyptian Revolution recently passed its first anniversary, and the country now finds itself on the road towards democracy. Promisingly, parliamentary elections have taken place, a new constitution will be drafted in due course, and presidential elections are in sight. However, Egypt's new government faces a number of challenges, such as delivering a constitution that guarantees equality, and implementing necessary reforms. The international community can constructively support this phase of the transition, but its policy should be underpinned by: a willingness to connect with all new actors in the political field; a focus on the role of civil society groups and their function in democracy; and conscientious account taken of shifting regional alliances. Read more»
Cru Policy Brief: “Rule of Law and Security Sector Reform, A pragmatic approach to addressing the security and justice spectrum”
April 4, 2012. Policymakers and practitioners working on Rule of Law (RoL) Reform and Security Sector Reform (SSR) have a tendency to demarcate strict areas of competence between the two fields of programming. This is both counterproductive and unnecessary. To provide a different perspective, this Policy Brief presents the justice and security spectrum, a continuum running from the more 'kinetic' types of security to issues such as transitional justice and reconciliation. Realising that SSR and RoL Reform each have a comparative advantage in particular areas of this spectrum opens up a wider set of entry-points for reform. The linkages between these areas enable programmers to set up an incremental approach to progressively cover more issues along the whole spectrum as the reform process unfolds. Read more»
The Peace Security and Development Network Conference: Connecting constructive policy with local realities
March 27, 2012. On the 5th of April the PSDN organizes an interactive and innovative conference program with the aims to connect people, exchange knowledge, further discussions and develop new ideas. Read more»
The Political Economy of State-building in Situations of Fragility and Conflict: from Analysis to Strategy
February 14, 2012. Fragile states have been at the heart of Western development and security strategy for over a decade. Bringing together the findings of five case studies of states that show clear signs of illegitimacy or a weak capacity to govern, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, Kosovo and Pakistan, this paper examines the roots and dynamics of state fragility by placing the spotlight on the way political power works. The paper highlights the aspects of political economy that give rise to weak or fragile state institutions, freeze or reverse attempted reforms, create public insecurity and paralyse economic development. The paper concludes with suggestions that may help guide a pragmatic and realistic approach. Above all, donors must be constantly sensitive to the structures of power, interests and incentives that can capture and subvert new formal governance arrangements. Read more»