The futures of policing African states

Abstract

The current organizational arrangements, cultures, and practices of policing in Sub‐Saharan African states, and likely future developments to more democratic forms of policing, are constrained by persistent patterns of political instability, pervasive insecurity, identity‐based and often quite violent conflicts, corruption, vast class and status distinctions among the rich and the poor, weak civic society organizations, and a withdrawing from the state into survival activities by much of the population. Unless these social contexts change, through international pressures and assistance programs and sustainable domestic political and economic reforms, the efforts of progressive police leaders are not likely to move policing in Africa toward more democratic forms.