07 September 2011

GPPi discusses post-conflict police reform at international conference in Iceland

On 25 August 2011, at the 6th European Consortium for Political Research conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, GPPi Research Associate Steffen Eckhard presented a paper on the strategic management of police reform in Afghanistan and Kosovo. The study was titled Strategic Management in Peace Operations. An Organizational Analysis of Post-conflict Police Reform in Afghanistan and Kosovo. It was presented during a panel called The Dark Side of United Nations Bureaucracy – Taking a Closer Look at Peace Operations.

During his discussion, Eckhard introduced an analytical framework that broadens the focus on peace operation bureaucracies beyond the United Nations. Moreover, he stressed that researchers should consider the bright side of peace bureaucracies, not only the “dark side.” Much of the recent literature on bureaucracies in international peace organizations has emphasized pathologies and unintended consequences. However, it is also important to look at, for example, the conditions for successful strategies, learning or evaluation. This is necessary to provide policymakers with the right recommendations to improve post-conflict peace building.

For more on the panel and other contributions, please click here.

Related GPPi content

For further information, please contact Steffen Eckhard.

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