Abstract
This article seeks to understand the demands of the security sector in Latin America, in the context of reforms promoted by international aid agencies in the region. The hypothesis of this study is that international aid programs focused on Security Sector Reform (SSR) in Latin America have been generic, and have overlooked recipient countries’ own reform agendas. Latin American perspectives on SSR have been inferred from Organization of American States (OAS) documents. Information on international assistance for SSR programs was gathered from the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) database for the years 2004-2014. The analysis shows that assistance programs are not generic and that the profile of projects, resources allocated and countries targeted differ greatly according to the donor. The study also reveals differences in programs funded by bilateral and multilateral aid agencies in the region, which fits with the findings of previous studies, showing that, in general, programs funded by multilateral agencies are more attentive to local needs than those promoted by bilateral agencies. By contrast, programs funded by bilateral aid are less demand-driven and more guided by donor interests.
Highlights
This article seeks to understand the demands of the security sector in Latin America, in the context of reforms promoted by international aid agencies in the region
While agencies for international cooperation in developed countries have been funding Security Sector Reform (SSR) programs in Latin America since 2004, are they aware of these local agendas? Do these agencies focus on priorities identified by recipient countries when formulating their programs? With these questions in mind, this article maps and analyzes SSR programs funded by international development agencies in Latin America, examining their structure and priorities in comparison with local agendas
I look at IADB Special Fund, European Union (EU) and United Nations (UN) Official Development Assistance (ODA) flows to SSR programs in Latin America, to assess the profile of multilateral programs
Summary
This article seeks to understand the demands of the security sector in Latin America, in the context of reforms promoted by international aid agencies in the region. The hypothesis of this study is that international aid programs focused on Security Sector Reform (SSR) in Latin America have been generic, and have overlooked recipient countries' own reform agendas. The analysis shows that assistance programs are not generic and that the profile of projects, resources allocated and countries targeted differ greatly according to the donor.
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