Reform of the security systems

The last Defence and security cooperation revue from the Partenaires Sécurité Défense  focuses on the adaptation of the instruments of national and international cooperation, more specifically the security and defense cooperation.

Security and defense cooperation should not be reduced to specialized capabilities, confined to given territories, or limited to a “pillar” that operates alongside governance or development. It is, however, destined to incorporate new areas of partnership and influence, with a strong economic and cultural dimension. It will also maintain a unique approach to state sovereignty, firmly oriented towards the nation state. Those are the three strategic observations that enable us to reflect on the future of French cooperation and form the basis of the concept of “security systems reform”.

Thus, the idea of “permanent SSR” based on preventive influence, which addresses crises in the long term, is necessarily coupled with a “flexible” approach. The various forms of cooperation are shared between the multinational level (providing legitimacy, resources and interoperability), operative alliances, the national level and certain decentralized levels.

This reflection on the concept of SSR distinguishes between the two levels of French security and defense cooperation, which are complementary in time and in their modes of action: operational cooperation, or “emergency SSR”, led in France by the Ministries of Defense and of the Interior, as an immediate response to the effects of a crisis; and structural cooperation, led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, which tackles the root causes - instability or institutional deficiencies - through capacity building in partner states, without which there can be no lasting solution.

For full access to the Reform of the security systems revue, kindly follow the link.