Security Programs in Disordered States
In an increasingly disordered global environment and with nearly two billion people living in fragile contexts, governments and non-state actors are engaging in complex security arrangements.
These networks often involve partnerships between fragile states, international organizations, powerful nations, non-governmental organizations, and private sector actors. Multi-actor security networks are critical to establishing and maintaining peace, particularly in areas where traditional international security mechanisms no longer suffice. Led by Dr. Aila Matanock (UC Berkeley) and in partnership with Dr. Susanna Campbell (American University and RIPIL) and Dr. Nazneen Barma (University of Denver), this project seeks to understand which domestic political actors and their broader networks invite partnerships with international actors in the security realm, how the geostrategic considerations of various powers shape their response to these invitations, and, finally, what effects these often-overlooked multi-actor security networks have on security and the constitution of the broader global security order.
By tracing how local requests for policing support in Honiara, counter-terror assistance in Bamako, or cyber-security training in Manila draw different constellations of external actors, we illuminate a patchwork security order in which China, the United States, regional bodies and private contractors all compete—and sometimes cooperate—far outside formal alliances.
What we’re doing
Comparative field research in the Pacific, Southeast Asia and West Africa to map which domestic actors invite which external partners—and what each side demands in return. Regional teams will produce three research papers and policy blogs that speak directly to local debates.
A jointly written white paper that offers the first general theory of multi-actor security networks.
Four participatory workshops—Accra, Honolulu, Singapore/Bangkok, and Washington DC—to stress-test findings with scholars, practitioners and community voices, and to seed a Global Network on Multi-Actor Security that will continue beyond the grant.
Rapid-response outputs (op-eds, visual briefs, podcasts) released through RIPIL, the Center for Effective Global Action (CEGA) and other policy platforms so that evidence lands where decisions are made.
Our Team
Aila M. Matanock, UC Berkeley (PI)
Susanna Campbell, American University (Co-PI)
Naazneen Barma (University of Denver)
Tarcisius Kabutaulaka (University of Hawai‘i) & Courtney Fung (Macquarie University) – Pacific hub
Jonathan Chu & Selina Ho (National University of Singapore) – Southeast Asia hub
Emma Birikorang (KAIPTC) & Lina Benabdallah (Wake Forest University) – West Africa hub
Read the work
CEGA Blog | Reconceptualizing the State: West Africa Workshop on Multi-actor Security Networks & Global Order
CEGA Blog | New Threats, Ad-hoc Networks, and Strategic Flexibility: Security Insights from Southeast Asia
CEGA Blog | Pacific for Whom? Order Contestation in the Pacific Region
Framework Paper (forthcoming)
Cover image of project: photo credit