![]() The Democratic Party-the country’s main opposition-publicly called the 2012 presidential election unfair because the National Intelligence Service (NIS) had manipulated public opinion prior to the election, leaving disparaging comments about opposition candidate Moon Jae-in on popular websites. Two years later, when Egypt underwent a civil uprising that brought to an end the country’s decades-old Mubarak regime, he lauded South Korea’s democracy once again, suggesting that “Egypt could transform itself into a democracy on the model of Indonesia, Chile, or South Korea.” By 2013, however, alleged election fraud in South Korea had damaged the international reputation of its mature democracy. President Barack Obama cited South Korea as an exemplary case of economic growth and democracy in his famous speech at Cairo University on June 4, 2009. It is widely accepted that South Korea has successfully consolidated democracy. South Korea’s Immature Professionalism in the Security Sector Their successor 200-member constituent assembly, the General National Congress (GNC) elected in July 2012, has not fared much better due to dysfunctional politics, factional disputes, pervasive distrust, a legacy of institutional destruction, and sporadic resistance by former members and supporters of the toppled regime, as well as historical, regional, and tribal cleavages. Transitional authorities under the National Transitional Council (NTC, March 2011-August 2012) were too weak to govern and acquire legitimacy. The moment of unity generated by toppling the tyrant has fragmented due to the fact that, unlike Tunisia or Egypt, no state apparatus existed to take over from the victorious rebels. The Libyan uprising launched almost three years ago has yet to produce the promised transition to a new post-Qaddafi political order. ![]() Libya on the Brink: Insecurity, Localism, and the State Not Back In Backed by the Yemeni government, the Popular Committees (PCs), local armed resistance groups, pushed AAS out of major cities in Abyan. ![]() The political turmoil associated with the uprising has resulted in an alarming deterioration of the security situation throughout the country, most notably the seizure of two major cities in the southern governorate of Abyan by Ansar al-Shariah (AAS), an offshoot of al-Qa`ida. This eventually led to the removal of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh from power later the same year. In early 2011, Yemeni youths took to the street to demand the downfall of the regime and much-needed democratic reforms. The Popular Committees of Abyan, Yemen: A Necessary Evil or an Opportunity for Security Reform? ![]() The essays featured in this series share insights from past and ongoing processes of "civilianizing" the state in Asia-Pacific countries and examine the steps already taken and still needed in post-Arab Spring MENA countries. These circumstances beg many questions, including: What is the proper democratic space and role for the security services in post-Arab Spring countries? To what extent can and have the missions of the security apparatuses of MENA countries been re-calibrated? What could members of the international community do or should they refrain from doing in order to strengthen the security capacity of post-Arab Spring countries, consistent with the principles of good governance and rule of law? Yet, more than three years after the Arab Spring commenced, there has been mixed progress, at best, toward “civilianizing” the state - more commonly referred to as Security Sector Reform (SSR). Indeed, one of the most urgent challenges facing post-Arab Spring countries is creating a secure environment (i.e., one that is conducive to development and good governance). Throughout the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, security institutions have long been key pillars of authoritarian rule and agents of conflict. Yet, even today, after two decades of democratic development in East Asia, civilian control - of decision-making over public policy, internal security, and national defense - is still not an uncontested norm. The political transformations that have taken place in East Asia have involved the reconfiguration of the relationships between the security institutions and the state. There are numerous past and present cases around the world where security institutions - armed forces, police, intelligence services, militias and paramilitaries - have played important, if not decisive roles in buttressing or undermining the prolongation of authoritarian rule or conflict.
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