Robert M. Perito

USIP's Pakistan Program and its Security Sector Governance Center welcomed a delegation of senior Pakistani police officers recently for a discussion on police and law enforcement challenges in Pakistan. USIP's expertise on law enforcement in conflict and post-conflict environments formed the backbone of the afternoon's discussion.

The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) held its third annual conference on security sector governance on May 10, drawing in activists from North Africa and the Middle East as well as former U.S. ambassadors to the region to assess the political and security-sector challenges arising from the “Arab Awakening.”

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Jonathan Greenert visited USIP April 12 to discuss the India-Pakistan relationship, security sector governance and North Korea and the Pacific Rim.

In 2010, the Department of Defense launched the Ministry of Defense Advisors (MoDA) program to provide experienced civilian managers from its staff to advise their counterparts in the defense and interior ministries in Afghanistan. This report examines the selection, training, and deployment of MoDA advisors as well as the strengths and shortcomings of the program.  It incorporates the insights of returned advisors, MoDA program staff and instructors, and senior U.S. government officials in Washington and members of NATO Training Mission – Afghanistan (NTM-A). It was prepared at the request of the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Partnership Strategy and Stability Operations.  

USIP hosted a briefing for an American commander deploying to the Horn of Africa.

The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) and the Institute for the Study of War co-hosted a critical lessons learned forum on policing in Iraq moderated by Robert Perito, director of USIP's Security Sector Governance and author of the new Special Report, “The Iraq Federal Police: U.S. Police Building Under Fire.”

Bob Perito, director of USIP's Security Governance Center of Innovation, recently returned from Tunisia and Libya, where he met with police, military and government officials to examine the current status of the security sector in each country.

Police corruption is a universal problem, but it is a particular challenge in countries in crisis and emerging from conflict. This report is based on the lessons gleaned from a review of public commissions of inquiry into police misconduct worldwide and their possible application in stability operations, such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Robert Perito, director USIP’s Security Sector Governance Center, provides some context for Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's visit to Libya.

USIP’s Bob Perito discusses how internal security agencies must change in countries transitioning from authoritarianism to democracy.

USIP hosted a panel discussion April 19 on the state of Pakistan’s security forces that looked at the political and security dynamics at play and how they affect the military.

The thrust of tonight's State of the Union speech will be on the economy, jobs and civility in political discourse, with members of both parties sitting side-by-side in a display of bipartisanship. Read more of USIP's preview of Obama's State of the Union address.

This report is based on views expressed during an August 31, 2010, event, “Security after the Quake? Addressing Violence and Rape in Haiti,” hosted by the U.S. Institute of Peace’s Gender and Peacebuilding Center and the Haiti Working Group.

This Peace Brief is based on a public forum and meeting of USIP’s Haiti Working Group on October 29, 2010. The featured speaker was Michèle Duvivier Pierre-Louis, former Prime Minster of Haiti (2008-2009). Robert Maguire, Chair of USIP’s Haiti Working Group and Associate Professor of International Affairs at Trinity Washington University, was a discussant. Robert Perito, director of USIP’s Haiti Program, served as moderator.

Robert Perito, director of USIP's Initiative on Security Sector Governance under the Centers of Innovation, discusses recent developments in Haiti, and the challenges facing the country moving forward.

Five months after Haiti’s January 12th earthquake, the situation on the ground remains critical.  With the arrival of hurricane season, the failure to provide adequate shelter and instill hope for a better future threatens stability.

Peace, stability, and humanitarian operations typically involve the interaction of international organizations (IOs), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the U.S. government, and the U.S. military. The Institute’s highly successful Guide to IGOs, NGOs and the Military in Peace and Relief Operations, which was based on peace operations in the Balkans following the Cold War, has been instrumental in facilitating interaction between IOs, NGOs, and the military. This online version includes updated information and resources.

A new USIP report argues the importance of legislative oversight for effective security services, and why the U.S. Congress is a model for foreign legislatures.

As part of a push to bolster security in Iraq, the U.S. government declared 2006 the “Year of the Police” and focused on building the institutional capacity of the Ministry of the Interior, which supervises and trains Iraq’s police force.  However, even by 2007, numerous reports described Iraq’s Ministry of the Interior as crippled by corruption and sectarianism, and furthermore represented a major obstacle to developing an effective police force in the country.

Efforts to create an effective interior ministry and a professional and community oriented police force cannot succeed unless they are part of an overall effort for security sector reform. SSR, a relatively new concept, refers to the highly political and complex task of transforming the institutions and organizations responsible for dealing with security threats to the state and its citizens.

The Iraq PRT program has highlighted the challenges that the U.S. government faces in conducting operations in conflicted environments. The Iraq PRT Project collected insights and lessons learned from government, military, and non-governmental officials. Interviews were conducted by the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training under a contract with the Institute of Peace.

In July 2006, Haitian poet and historian Jean-Claude Martineau spoke at USIP and said that Haiti is the only country in the world with a last name—“Haiti, poorest country in the western hemisphere” —as described in the media. Sadly, in the two years since, conditions have worsened. Four severe storms that struck Haiti in September 2008 only exacerbated the already critical problem of the country’s poverty.

The UN mission in Haiti's successful campaign against the country's gangs set a precedent for future missions. Based on field research, authors Michael Dziedzic and Robert Perito explore the conduct of military and police operations, Haitians' overwhelmingly positive views of the UN intervention and lessons learned.

Robert Perito testified at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing examining the military’s role in foreign policy. Perito spoke to the application and implementation processes of the 1207 Program of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Iraq's Ministry of Interior has been fraught with rivalries since 2003. How can it address these challenges?

Haiti has recently worked to enact the constitution of 1987. However, this document is fraught with ambiguous, perplexing, and legally cumbersome measures.

The first obligation of an international intervention force in a peace or stability operation is to provide security for the civilian population. Inevitably the arrival of foreign military forces is followed by a breakdown of public order. The United States should carry through plans to create a federal-level police reserve for international police and stability operations.

Over the past year, Haiti has witnessed the democratic election of a new parliament, the return of relative security, and the first hints of economic recovery. Still, massive problems remain to challenge Haiti and Haiti’s primary international partner, the United States.

Robert Perito testified before the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations on the progress and challenges toward transitioning security responsibilities to the government of Iraq.

Although several milestones have been accomplished in training and equipping security and police forces in Iraq, achievement of these goals masks a troubling reality regarding the loyalty and quality of these Iraqi forces.

The Sudan Experience Project Oral History Library contains the transcripts of nearly 100 interviews with those who negotiated and who are implementing the CPA. These first person accounts and the lessons learned from their experience are a substantial contribution to our understanding of the challenges of negotiating and implementing complex peace agreements.

Haiti's new government faces an enormous economic challenge. Since a brief spike in the 1970's, Haiti's economy has experienced a steady decline as a result of rapacious government policies and, possibly well intentioned, but destructive international sanctions.

Two years after Jean-Bertrand Aristide's ouster by armed revolt, Haiti appears ready to turn a page in its turbulent political history. What is the nature of the challenges Haiti's new leadership will face in governing a country traumatized by chronic violence and instability?

Important lessons for current and future U.S. peace and stability operations can be found in the experiences of Americans who served in Provincial Reconstruction Teams (PRTs) in Afghanistan. PRTs are small, joint civilian-military organizations whose mission is to promote governance, security, and reconstruction throughout the country.

Congressional Testimony by Robert M. Perito, Coordinator, Iraq Experience Project, Professional Training Program, U.S. Institute of Peace.

In most of Afghanistan, the rule of law has never been strong, but after 23 years of warfare it has been displaced almost completely by the 'rule of the gun.' In most of the country, regional power-holders, whether they hold official positions or not, effectively exercise political, police and judicial authority through their control of militia forces.

A penetrating study of U.S. policy on peace operations, examining the challenges of establishing sustainable security in postconflict environments in places like the Balkans, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Robert Perito chronicles the history of American conceptions and misconceptions regarding peacekeeping forces.