A New Balance between ‘Local’ and ‘National’? Libya's Failed Security Sector Reform

ABSTRACT

This study argues that local ownership of Security Sector Reform (SSR) efforts may not be enough to bring stability to post-conflict countries, especially where the state is collapsed due to armed conflict. Based on the vertical integration approach, the study makes a conceptual distinction between local and national security providers/initiatives and highlights the importance of the balance-building role that international actors should play between them to achieve security and stability during post-conflict reconstruction. The research focuses on the Libyan experience between 2011 and 2014 as a single case study and relies mainly on United Nations (UN) documents and fieldwork-based reports.

KEYWORDS:

• Security sector reform
• Libya
• local ownership
• vertical integration
• post-conflict reconstruction

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) under Grant [number 1059B192000778].

Notes on contributors

Nuri Yeşilyurt

Nuri Yeşilyurt is an associate professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University (Turkey). He was a visiting researcher at the School of Politics and International Relations, University of Kent (UK) during 2021-2. He received BA and PhD degrees from Ankara University, and MPhil degree from the University of Cambridge. His publications are mainly focused on Turkish – Arab relations, Turkish Foreign Policy, and MENA politics and security. Dr. Yeşilyurt’s research at the University of Kent was funded by Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TÜBİTAK) and focused on the problem of Security Sector Reform in post-uprising Libya.