Security Sector Governance in Francophone West Africa: Realities and Opportunities

Experience shows that successful democratic transitions need to be underpinned by a security sector that is effective, well managed and accountable to the state and its citizens. This is why it is so important to carefully examine security sector governance dynamics in contexts where security has often remained a 'reserved domain'. Understanding the issues and perspectives that divide political elites, the security sector and citizens is the only way to develop security sector reform programmes that are legitimate and sustainable at the national level. Through drawing on the close contextual knowledge of practitioners, researchers and diverse local actors, this volume supports this goal by analysing security sector governance dynamics in each of the nine Francophone countries within West Africa. From this basis, strengths and weaknesses are analysed, local capacities evaluated, and entry points identified to promote democratic security sector governance in the West African region.