Marina Caparini Livres

The collection serves as a brief introduction to some of the challenges confronting journalists when reporting on the safety, security and justice needs of people and communities, and the related issues of public interest about state efforts to serve and manage those needs. The articles reflect the experiences of journalists who have worked in a variety of conflict-affected or transitional environments around the world. Their insights underscore the critical roles played by journalists in informing and educating citizens, holding governments and those in power to account, and helping to rebuild communities shattered by conflict. The ability of journalists to report independently, accurately and with sensitivity to the broader implications of these core issues of public interest are integral to building more effective, accountable and responsive public governance of safety, security and justice.

This volume analyses the role of civil society in the reform and oversight of the security sector in post- communist countries as a key aspect of the transition towards democracy. It is widely accepted that civil society actors have an important contribution to make in the governance of the security sector. However, that specific role has not been subject to much close or comparative examination. This book constitutes an attempt to examine and compare experiences of civil society participation in security oversight across Central and Eastern Europe. The first part of the volume presents the reader with the theoretical and conceptual background against which the potential role of civil society in security sector governance can be understood and assessed. The remainder of the book is comprised of nine country studies of civil society engagement with the security sector. Reviewing developments over the past 15 years of regime transformation in the region, the book draws upon a rich variety of cases that cast light on the different experiences, challenges, and successes of civil society actors and the media in democratisation, security sector reform, and the exercise of democratic oversight of the security sector.

The concept of media as the ‘fourth estate’ is now firmly established as a main principle of modern Western democratic theory. Free and independent media are a key element in democracies, where they play a vital role as a bridge or transmission belt between society and those who govern. The security sector, however, tends to remain resistant to the processes of democratisation and civilian oversight. Legitimised by the concerns of ‘national security’, governments and security elites advance reasons for lack of transparency and low levels of public scrutiny. Despite some attempts to manage public and media relations, the levels of transparency in performing the tasks and communicating them to the media remain less than ideal. The global war on terror and heightened security threats across the world further contribute to the curbing of freedom of expression, access to information and public scrutiny of the security sector activities. This publication examines the complex relationship between Western security structures and the media, and uses it to draw implications for the role of media in the ongoing processes of democratisation and „security sector reform“ (SSR) in transitional countries. It thus offers a unique perspective on the convergence of security, governance and media in democratic and democratising contexts.

"The chapters in this book describe what has happened to the policing systems in 14 countries in Central and Eastern Europe; what reforms in ideology, organisation, policies and practices have been undertaken; what has changed in the way policing is done; and assessment of whether the policing system has moved closer toward democratic policing. In combining descriptions of reforms and assessments of whether reforms have moved policing systems toward more democratic forms, the book provides a comparative overview of what has been achieved since 1989 and what has been learned so far about how to reform policing systems along democratic lines."--Jacket

Focusing on the complexities of creating accountable intelligence services, this volume explores the experiences of both established democracies and nations transitioning from authoritarianism. It examines the unique challenges these countries face in ensuring democratic control and accountability, providing valuable insights into the intersection of governance and intelligence in diverse political contexts.