Police missions must address political realities in post-conflict security institutions, say researchers

In a paper for the 2014 ​“Friedensgutachten” (Peace Report), Steffen Eckhard and Philipp Rotmann call on the European Union’s foreign affairs apparatus to focus on the political challenges facing its police missions in their host countries abroad. They argue that the inability of these missions to engage with the fundamental political realities within the host countries’ justice and security institutions has severely limited the success of EU police missions in promoting peace and stability.