Filling the Security Gap: International Approaches to Policing in Conflict

Both during and after conflict, police play a vital role in restoring public security and rebuilding local capacity to uphold the rule of law. But local law enforcement may sometimes be unable or unwilling to provide policing services in conflict-affected settings, which means the international community is often called on to fill the security gap. To do so, the international community requires the ability to rapidly deploy policing experts and calibrate the capacities and mandates of policing missions to the demands of volatile environments.

To better tailor these police interventions, international actors including NATO and the U.N. have examined past efforts — such as those in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Afghanistan — to develop specialized models for policing and police capacity-building in conflict-affected settings.

Join USIP for a conversation that will explore how past international policing and reform efforts make the case for specialized policing interventions, what these specialized models look like in practice, and how they could be applied to current and emerging conflicts.

For more information about this event, please visit

Speakers:

Lise Grande

President and CEO, U.S. Institute of Peace

Col. Giuseppe De Magistris

Director, NATO Stability Policing Centre of Excellence

Jaswant Lal

Strategic Policy and Development Section Lead, U.N. Police Division

John F. Sopko

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction

Philippe Leroux-Martin, moderator

Director, Governance, Justice and Security, U.S. Institute of Peace

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The United States Institute of Peace is a national, nonpartisan, independent institute, founded by Congress and dedicated to the proposition that a world without violent conflict is possible, practical and essential for U.S. and global security. In conflict zones abroad, the Institute works with local partners to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict. To reduce future crises and the need for costly interventions, USIP works with governments and civil societies to build local capacities to manage conflict peacefully. The Institute pursues its mission by linking research, policy, training, analysis and direct action to support those who are working to build a more peaceful, inclusive world. Learn more about USIP