A new balance between 'Local' and 'National'? Libya's Failed Security Sector Reform

YEŞİLYURT N.

JOURNAL OF INTERVENTION AND STATEBUILDING, vol.17, no.4, pp.456-476, 2023 (SSCI) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 17 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2023
  • Doi Number: 10.1080/17502977.2023.2207885
  • Journal Name: JOURNAL OF INTERVENTION AND STATEBUILDING
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI)
  • Page Numbers: pp.456-476
  • Keywords: Security sector reform, Libya, local ownership, vertical integration, post-conflict reconstruction, OWNERSHIP, PEACE, STATE
  • Ankara University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

This study argues that local ownership of Security Sector Reform (SSR) efforts may not be enough to bring stability to post-conflict countries, especially where the state is collapsed due to armed conflict. Based on the vertical integration approach, the study makes a conceptual distinction between local and national security providers/initiatives and highlights the importance of the balance-building role that international actors should play between them to achieve security and stability during post-conflict reconstruction. The research focuses on the Libyan experience between 2011 and 2014 as a single case study and relies mainly on United Nations (UN) documents and fieldwork-based reports.