International assistance and security sector reform in Latin America and Caribbean

Abstract

The present work seeks to understand the security sector demands of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), in the context of reforms promoted by international aid agencies in the region. The initial hypothesis of this study is that international aid programs focused on Security Sector Reform (SSR) in the region have been generic, and have overlooked recipient countries' own reform agendas. LAC perspectives on SSR have been inferred from documents of the Organization of American States (OAS), UNASUR, MERCOSUR, CARICOM and Andean Community 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 donors. However, international offers do not account for the overall set of demands, and some of the more expensive programs funded by international assistance are not even mentioned in regional agendas, which suggests that SSR aid responds to funder"s guidelines rather than to local needs. The study also reveals differences between programs funded by bilateral and multilateral aid agencies in the region, showing that, in general, programs funded by multilateral agencies are more attentive to local demands than those promoted by bilateral agencies, which are less demand-driven and more guided by donor interests.