Oversight or Overlooked? Civil Society’s Role in Monitoring and Reforming Security Systems and the Practice of Counterterrorism

March 2009

This report considers civil society’s role in monitoring Security System Reform (SSR) and counterterrorism both in policy and in practice. It argues that civil society engagement, particularly with local actors, is central to ensuring proper civilian oversight and the overall effectiveness of both SSR and counterterrorism efforts and examines how efforts to engage civil society may be improved.