‘Peshmerga in the Future’ A Case Study on Security Sector Reform of the Ministry of Peshmerga in a Hybrid Security Context in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, since 2015.

Abstract

After the territorial ‘defeat’ of Daesh in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), some argue the momentum is here to once again work on the reform of the Peshmerga forces. This thesis examines how international donors employ Security Sector Reform (SSR) practices in the KRI since 2015. Over the last decade, SSR has been criticised for not living up to its expectations and for not delivering enough ‘positive’ outcomes. As a result, second generation SSR has come into existence over the past years. The U.K., U.S. and Germany developed jointly with the Ministry of Peshmerga a 35-point reform programme, of which projects are currently being implemented. By means of in-depth semi-structured interviews and document analysis, insight is created in how the SSR programme is employed. The SSR practices in the KRI are used as case study to examine whether or not features of second generation SSR are being taken into account. Hereby aiming to contribute to the academic and policy debate on the development of SSR. Attention is paid to the hybrid security context that exists in the KRI, influencing the Peshmerga reform programme. Additionally, obstacles hindering the reforms are identified and this thesis subsequently explores how the SSR practices take these complications into account. Lastly, it is argued that not only the question of ‘how’ the reforms are being employed is of importance. Through inductive research it is discovered that the question ‘why’ the reforms are carried out should additionally be analysed. Can the Peshmerga reforms be identified as SSR at all? This research has found that the programme in the KRI comprises both elements of first and second generation SSR. Due to the obstacles identified the reforms are thus far not moving forward, something that does not seem to greatly aggravate the donor nations, possibly due to their other interests in the region.