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Muggah, Zyck, Downes 2012 Editors Foreword. Stability, 1(1): 1-3. DOI: STABILITY http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/sta.ak. Editors’ Foreword Robert Muggah, Steven A. Zyck and Mark Downes* The international policy community is pre- luster in the Middle East, North Africa, and occupied by a purported rise in fragility, elsewhere. conflict, and violence around the world. The The West´s engagement with stabiliza- World Bank´s 2011 World Development Re- tion emerged in the wake of experiences in port cast a spotlight on the many ways col- Afghanistan and Iraq. As is well rehearsed in lective violence undermines governance and the global media, both countries have long socio-economic development. Likewise, the been graveyards for empires as well as hastily Organization for Economic Co-operation rendered approaches to counterinsurgency, and Development (OECD) has been working recovery, reconstruction, and state-building. closely with the so-called g7+, a constella- In spite of massive aid allocations, the secu- tion of 19 fragile countries, to re-evaluate the rity outlook in both countries remains bleak. terms by which security and development Indeed, there are some signs that develop- assistance is issued. Yet amidst all this focus ment assistance may have actually exacer- on instability, there is less critical reflection bated local tensions and entrenched conflict. on practical policies and applied practices These and other experiences have given ‘sta- to promote stability. In other words, we are bility’ and ‘stabilization’ something of a black starting to appreciate the factors that induce eye – and rightly so. A narrow range of coer- fragility but know rather less about how to cive interventions combining military force engender safety and security on the ground. with dubious civilian assistance was never Now is an opportune moment to critically likely to work. Indeed, many proponents of reflect and interrogate concepts such as sta- stabilization in Afghanistan and Iraq failed to bility. Most United Nations member states appreciate that security comes not from ‘win- have acknowledged the interplay of security ning hearts and minds’ through self-serving and development and are searching for new quick-impact projects but by prioritizing jus- ideas and innovations to ensure that they are tice, economic opportunity, political rights, mutually reinforcing. The Arab Spring also and access to non-violent means of pursuing providing a historic and turbulent critique of dignity, equality, and change over the long the many ways in which factors such as social term. and economic exclusion, weak governance, And while some commentators in the West and geo-strategic interests are shaping the believe that stabilization – as a set of ideals, security and development environment. In- practices, and outcomes – is dead or dying, deed, the ‘authoritarian bargain’ that denied there is ample evidence to the contrary. human rights and political participation at Indeed, it is flourishing – albeit under dif- the expense of ‘stability’ has lost much of its ferent guises and labels – in many parts of the world. Global economic uncertainty has also generated a crucial change in the cal- * [email protected] culations of some governments. The era of 2 Muggah, Zyck, Downes/ Editors’ Foreword large-scale military interventions is coming ity intends to challenge the artificial distinc- to a close. Meanwhile, public agencies, mul- tions between conflict, crime, and violence. tilateral organizations, non-governmental While accounting for political and economic entities and the private sector are forced to approaches, Stability also endeavors to deep- cut-back, re-prioritize, and figure out how to en the dialogue across disciplines, pulling in do more with less. In the process, many insti- sociologists, anthropologists, geographers, tutions have sought to forge linkages across psychologists, criminologists, historians, law- defense, development, and diplomacy – the yers, and others involved in trying to under- so-called 3Ds – and establish whole-of-gov- stand what works and what does not when ernment, whole-of-system, and ‘comprehen- it comes to the business of security and de- sive’ approaches. All of this has given rise to velopment. Technical specialists in engineer- a new alphabet soup of multi-agency institu- ing, agronomy, public health, public admin- tions such as Canada’s Stabilization and Re- istration, policing, and other ‘applied’ topics construction Task Force (START) to the UK’s will also be solicited to contribute in order Stabilisation Unit and the US State Depart- to extend and amplify the practitioner voice. ment’s Bureau for Conflict and Stabilization. Too often complex subjects such as corrup- Meanwhile, the real and potential sources tion, aid financing, and civil service reform of instability are also evolving quickly. In- are treated simplistically and not by experts deed, ours is a world where a thirty-second that have conducted an audit, overseen a cyber-attack on a stock exchange can prove procurement process, or grappled with hu- more destructive, at least in certain respects, man resource procedures. than a conventional terrorist attack. Like- A comparative advantage of Stability is wise, new forms of transnational organized the way it assembles voices from academic, crime and urbanized armed groups are also policy, and practice communities in a single forcing their way on to the international venue. Scholarly research can usefully inform agenda. More conventional actors such as policies and practices, and the knowledge pirates roam the oceans, wreaking havoc on and experience gathered by ‘doers’ – from sophistical maritime security arrangements. elected officials to civil servants, aid workers, Deep-seated sectarian and ethnic tensions diplomats, entrepreneurs, and military offic- continue to periodically flare up while land ers – can in turn shape research agendas and and water rights continue to trigger highly dissemination strategies. Stability thus seeks localized and urbanized forms of disorder. to meld a practical focus with the academic Throughout the world, persistent sexual excellence of a top-rated and peer-reviewed and gender-based violence, discrimination, journal. Hence, submissions from profes- and other forms of inequality continue to sional researchers are welcome alongside generate thousands of deaths that seldom contributions from experienced practition- generate meaningful responses or the levels ers, whether as full research articles, shorter of public attention and condemnation they practice notes or poignant commentaries deserve. Indeed, violence is increasingly inte- (the specifications for which are outlined in grated, simultaneous and overlapping, forc- the ‘Call for Papers’). Research articles will be ing many in the security and development peer reviewed to ensure that they genuinely establishments to rethink their normative advance theory and understanding regarding and practical frameworks of engagement. stability and related issues, though reviewers This journal – Stability – was launched will particularly comprise scholar-practition- precisely to engage with these critical de- ers who can understand that evidence can bates. Stability is not like any other journal, take many forms and that the perfect need attempting to carve out a specialized niche not be the enemy of the good. in the academic market place. Rather, Stabil- This journal explicitly tackles one addition- Muggah, Zyck, Downes / Editors’ Foreword 3 al barrier — that which prevents researchers time. Instead, each article will be published and experts in developing and fragile set- electronically as soon as it has been finalized, tings countries from contributing to and thus ensuring that information is accessible accessing international publishing outlets. as quickly as possible. However, every four Stability therefore is actively reaching out months — with Stability being published to Southern contributors, particularly those three times per year — articles will be pack- in war-torn and violence-affected societies. aged into a full issue and labeled as such. Ac- It is deliberately tailored to this audience cordingly, this journal aims to comply with and intends to facilitate inputs from non- the principles and practices of open-access native English speakers and those who find publishing, a movement which is thankfully it difficult to have their work recognized in gaining speed as the grasp of for-profit pub- traditional journals. We feel that it is by en- lishers over journals is rightly being ques- gaging with and promoting these voices that tioned and loosened. new and effective approaches to stability Finally, we are delighted that this inaugu- will emerge. Overcoming barriers to ensure ral issue reflects the energy and creativity of Southern contributions is a signal objective a number of individuals. First and foremost of this journal. We are pleased already to are the article authors, who contributed have attracted interest from authors in Latin to this issue and embraced its themes and America, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Af- publishing model. In addition, the found- rica, whose pieces appear in this inaugural ing Editorial Board members, each of whom issue and whose work will feature in future has a distinguished record as a scholar-prac- issues. titioner, helped to steer the journal to its Stability is fully and formally registered as launch. Their inputs, from the journal´s early an academic publication in the same way as

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