Examining the Urban Dimension of the Security Sector
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Examining the Urban Dimension of the Security Sector Research Report Project Title: Providing Security in Urban Environments: The Role of Security Sector Governance and Reform Project supported by the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) February 2018 Authors (in alphabetical order): Andrea Florence de Mello Aguiar, Lea Ellmanns, Ulrike Franke, Praveen Gunaseelan, Gustav Meibauer, Carmen Müller, Albrecht Schnabel, Usha Trepp, Raphaël Zaffran, Raphael Zumsteg 1 Table of Contents Table of Contents Authors Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations 1 Introduction: The New Urban Security Disorder 1.1 Puzzle and research problem 1.2 Purpose and research objectives 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Research hypotheses 1.5 Methodology 1.6 Outline of the project report 2 Studying the Security Sector in Urban Environments 2.1 Defining the urban context 2.2 Urbanisation trends 2.3 Urban security challenges 2.4 Security provision in urban contexts 2.5 The ‘generic’ urban security sector 2.6 Defining SSG and SSR: from national to urban contexts 3 The Urban SSG/R Context: Urban Threats and Urban Security Institutions 3.1 The urban SSG/R context: a microcosm of national SSG/R contexts 3.2 The urban environment: priority research themes and identified gaps 3.3 Excursus: The emergence of a European crime prevention policy 3.4 Threats prevalent and/or unique to the urban context – and institutions involved in threat mitigation 3.5 The urban security sector: key security, management and oversight institutions 3.6 Drivers and triggers of responses to urban security threats 3.7 Drivers and triggers of reforms of the urban security sector 3.8 The urban security sector’s position within / vis-à-vis the national security sector 4 Mapping the Urban Security Sector 4.1 Key questions and definitions 4.2 Framework of analysis: towards a mapping methodology 4.3 Selection of the mapping sample 4.4 Preparation of data for analysis 2 5 Analysis of the Urban Security Sector: Conclusions from the Large-N Mapping 5.1 Data 5.2 Observations on data coding and suggestions for further research 6 Conclusion 6.1 Findings 6.2 Suggestions for future research Bibliography Appendices - Appendix 1: Alternative Threat Analysis - Appendix 2: Bibliography/Large-N Mapping - Appendix 3: Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 25 September 2015 3 Authors Andrea Florence de Mello Aguiar Former Research Assistant, Research Division, DCAF Lea Ellmanns Research Assistant, Asia-Pacific Unit, DCAF Ulrike Franke Former Intern, Research Division, DCAF Praveen Gunaseelan Former Intern, Research Division, DCAF Gustav Meibauer Former Intern, Research Division, DCAF Carmen Müller Former Intern, Research Division, DCAF Dr. Albrecht Schnabel Head, Asia-Pacific Unit, DCAF Formerly: Senior Fellow, Research Division, DCAF Usha Trepp Former Research Assistant, Research Division, DCAF Dr. Raphaël Zaffran Former Research Assistant, Research Division, DCAF Raphael Zumsteg Research Assistant, Asia-Pacific Unit, DCAF 4 Acknowledgements The authors are most grateful to Susan Price for proofreading the report. The authors would also like to thank all other staff, including former and current employees, who contributed with their comments and constructive feedback to this project. Finally, the authors would like to take this opportunity to thank the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA) and the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) for their financial contribution to this project. 5 List of Abbreviations DCAF Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces EFUS European Forum for Urban Security EU European Union FARC Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) FIFA Fédération Internationale de Football Association HNP Haitian National Police ICCS International Classification of Crime for Statistical Purposes ICRC International Committee of the Red Cross IOC International Olympic Committee MOUT military operations in urban terrain OG Olympic Games PMSCs private military and security companies SDGs Sustainable Development Goals SENASP Brazilian Ministry of Justice’s National Public Secretariat SSG security sector governance SSR security sector reform UN-HABITAT United Nations Human Settlements Programme UNICRI United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime WB World Bank 6 1 Introduction: The New Urban Security Disorder 1.1 Puzzle and research problem The notion that “the majority of the world’s population is living in cities” has become one of the most recurrent catchphrases in contemporary scholarship pertaining to cities and urban issues, and is raised throughout diverse bodies of literature.1 While more than half of the population of developed countries has resided in urban areas since the 1950s, only in 2008- 09 is the global urbanisation rate said to have surpassed 50 percent. It is estimated that by 2020 more than half of the developing countries’ populations will be living in urban areas – and that by 2037 half of the world’s population will be living in cities and towns located in developing countries. Each month, five million people are added to cities in the developing world.2 It is also expected that certain sub-groups of the population will be particularly affected by city-specific issues, as is the case with women and girls. Notably, it is predicted that “approximately 1.5 billion girls will live in urban areas” by 2030.3 In addition to growing urbanisation, the phenomenon of “urban gentrification” has become an increasingly salient issue.4 Gentrification5 is the process through which property prices are driven up due to an influx of wealthy residents and businesses in neighbourhoods previously inhabited by less well-off segments of the population. As property prices and living costs rise, residents who can no longer afford to live there often need to relocate to less pricy neighbourhoods, usually farther away from the city centre. Although gentrification is regarded by many as a normal and inevitable component of urban dynamics, it is also seen as potentially dangerous for social cohesion. Shifting demographics and the increasing homogenisation of certain neighbourhoods can lead to social fragmentation, which may cause insecurity and conflict. Such social or class divides generate considerable issues for urban security sector governance. Underprivileged areas or neighbourhoods have gradually developed on the outskirts of many majors cities, in part as a result of gentrification. Some of these, such as the “favelas”6 in Brazilian cities or the “cités”7 and “banlieues”8 of France have faced significantly higher levels of criminality and socio-economic issues. 1 While, A. and Whitehead, M., 'Cities, Urbanisation and Climate Change', Urban Studies, vol. 50, no. 7 (1 May 2013): 1325. 2 Plan International, Women in Cities International, UN-HABITAT, “Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls 2010” (2010), Digital and Urban Frontiers: Girls in a Changing Landscape, Plan International: http://plan- international.org/girls/pdfs/BIAAG_2010_EN2.pdf, cited in “Adolescent Girls’ Views on Safety in Cities: Findings from the Because I am a Girl Urban Programme study in Cairo, Delhi, Hanoi, Kampala, and Lima” (2010), https://plan-international.org/publications/adolescent-girls%E2%80%99-views-safety-cities, accessed on 28 November 2017. 3 Ibid. 4 D.K., ‘What is Driving Urban Gentrification?’, The Economist, 17 September 2013, http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2013/09/economist-explains-5, accessed on 28 November 2017; Shea, M., ‘Berliners Are Waging a War Against Gentrification”, VICE, 6 April 2013, https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/9bn4x3/berlins-war-against-gentrification, accessed on 28 November 2017. 5 A definition of “gentrification” is provided in chapter 2.1. 6 A definition of “favela” is provided in chapter 2.1. 7 A definition of “cités” is provided in chapter 2.1. 8 A definition of “banlieues” is provided in chapter 2.1. 7 Thus, urbanisation presents a double-edged sword. While urban areas offer certain advantages over rural areas, such as economic opportunities, increased socialization and relatively high living standards, they also pose evolving and complex security and development challenges. Many cities suffer from weak or illegitimate governance, as well as ineffective structures for providing security, social services and rule of law. In particular, developing countries have suffered from both urban migration and weak governance.9 This further contributes to the sustained presence of conflict and instability in urban environments and the subsequent need for urgent improvements in governance capacity to ensure that principles of good security sector governance (SSG) are implemented. Security sector reform (SSR) activities play a key role in this process. This study argues that the urban context presents a microcosm wherein one might observe debates and developments on SSG and SSR that also take place at the national level – with relevant challenges and opportunities, applied practices and lessons learned from past or ongoing attempts to provide security for both people and the state. Moreover, as certain threats are more predominant in urban contexts, greater attention must be paid to the effectiveness, efficiency and democratic oversight of security institutions designed and responsible for meeting these specific threats. In urban contexts, security is provided by