For the year 2008 I am dividing my time between three projects:
* A project examining the role of security institutions in relation to national unity in East Timor. Drawing on my earlier research and new fieldwork, I seek to offer a new perspective to the analysis of security sector reform in East Timor: the demobilization of Falintil and the trajectories of the new military and police forces are considered in light of the weakening of societal cohesion since 1999 – a trend that culminated with the 2006 crisis. Funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Articles from this project are forthcoming in Pacific Review; Relaciones Internacionales (Spain); and Udenrigs (Denmark).
* A comparative project examining security sector reform that is part of internationalized statebuilding following military intervention. This project will review several current cases of SSR in light of existing theory on unit cohesion in military forces. The cases offer an opportunity to broaden the applicability of existing theory; the theory may inspire new suggestions as to how unit cohesion may be optimalized in ongoing SSR projects that appear increasingly exigent. Particular focus is on the cases of Iraq and Afghanistan, and data collection in Afghanistan is part of the project. Funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Defense.
* Finally, in April-May, I served as an OSCE long-term election observer for the parliamentary elections in Georgia.
