TASK : Tapping African Societal Knowledge

Research through the African Security Sector Network (ASSN) enlarges analyses of overlaps between security and development to help decision-makers better grasp sociological realities in Africa. This paper outlines and explains some principles underlying the work being done by the ASSN in security sector reform. There is an urgent need for more subtle understandings of socio-cultural dynamics specific to the African continent. Efficiency of security as well as of development policies conducted on the African continent often turn out to be limited due to partial knowledge of the environments in which they are implemented