ABOUT US

RC 44 Security, Conflict and Democratization is a research committee on issues of security, conflict and democratic governance of International Political Science Association (IPSA). It was first recognised as study group in 1988; granted research committee status in 1999; changed name from "Role of the Military in Democratization" to "Security, Conflict and Democratization" in April 2018.

Our objectives are to examine the relationship between democratic governance, authoritarian regimes, security policies, international and regional conflicts, and regulation of violence. We focus on issues of military's role in politics, military intervention, conflict resolution, ethnic or religious violence, terrorism, extremism, democratization, authoritarianism, semi-authoritarian, semi-democratic and democratic regimes, regime-related civil-military relations, military coups, military occupations, and other relevant themes.

Our origins go back to the discussions on the dynamics of democratization processes of the mid 1980s in Latin America, Eastern Europe and East Asia. The issues were debated in a series of meetings which culminated in 1988 with the establishment of a study group, and in 1999 with its recognition by IPSA as RC44. We are committed to methodological and theoretical pluralism and our members come from various institutions all around the world.

As a study group, we study the processes, content and consequences of military interventions in political systems. Military interventions have been a characteristic feature of many countries over the last 30 years or so. In the mid 1980s there was general public revulsion against the culture of military rule, particularly in Latin America.

The developments since then, and especially after the dawn of the 21st century created an intellectual sphere which necessitated research to examine processes of democratization and their consequences. Political economy of military regimes, crisis in civil-military relations and the role of military in nascent democracies have also been incorporated as areas of research.