Afghanistan's security sector reform (SSR) process and particularly the development of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) continues to suffer from deficits in manpower and expertise, both on the parts of the Afghan government and international community. It has also been slowed by myopic training goals that discount the importance of community engagement and civilian protection under the auspices of NATO's counterinsurgency strategy, and rising expectations for ANSF performance that outstrip the pace of institutional reform. This Security Sector Reform Monitor: Afghanistan edition examines trends in SSR in the context of an increasingly pressurized security environment and a rapidly expanding zone of military operations, with an emphasis on the ANSF's role in the present counter-insurgency strategy and its relationship with the Afghan public.

This edition of the Security Sector Reform Monitor: Timor-Leste examines the rise of national government ownership of the security sector reform (SSR) process. The report examines Timor-Leste's draft National Security Policy and new legislative framework for the security sector. It also explores Timor-Leste's unresolved security issues dating back to the 2006 crisis; namely the overlapping mandates of the police and the armed forces and the rise of paramilitary policing. Timor-Leste is showing troubling signs of police militarization and the blurring of lines between internal and external security responsibilities, as reflected in recent police operations, dubbed “ninja operations,” in the west of the country.