AISST
Partners Senegal’s African Institute for Security Sector Transformation (AISST) was created to address the lack of integration of security-sector actors (military, police, border patrol and intelligence services) into civilian authority structures and systems (legislative, executive and judiciary) in West Africa. This has been a destabilizing factor that contributes to conflict, coups and uprisings in the region.
AISST works to provide West African organizations with institutional support in order to facilitate dialogue between civilians, members of government, and those in the security sector in order to transform the current security sector into one which is democratically overseen and serves to support, rather than undermine, the interests of the people.
AISST’s goals are to ensure that
- West African security forces contribute to development through the improvement of civilian-security sector relations;
- Security forces have a respectful, collaborative, and inclusive relationship with civilian populations;
- Security sector agencies are under democratic control and remain politically neutral.
While AISST’s goals are ambitious, the organization is in a unique position to obtain them. AISST is an entirely West African institute, giving it the contextual knowledge needed to effectively approach these challenges. Furthermore, with Partners Senegal Director Colonel Birame Diop’s expertise as a member of the Senegalese Air Force, AISST enjoys an intimate understanding of the culture of West African security sectors.
Areas of Expertise:
- Gender Mainstreaming in the Security Sector
- Security Sector Governance
- Civil-Military Relations
- Community Policing
- Security Sector Cooperation
Publications
