Bruce Baker draws on his policing experience in a number of African countries. He talks about community policing and the vital though sometimes controversial role of non-state security actors in areas where the police struggle to extend their authority. He also discusses the intersection of non-state security groups and customary justice, and he offers reflections on donor and host-country partnerships.
Case Study: Building Civilian Police Capacity: Post-Conflict Liberia, 2003-2011
Full Interview
At the time of this interview, Bruce Baker was a professor of African security and director of the African Studies Centre at Coventry University, U.K. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Sussex and master's and doctoral degrees from Coventry University in the U.K. He has lectured at Coventry University and been a Research Fellow at Rhodes University in South Africa. He ran research projects on security issues in a number of African countries and conducted research for government and private organizations in the U.K. He wrote numerous articles and books, including "Escape from Domination in Africa: Political Disengagement and its Consequences" (James Curry, 2000), “Taking the Law into Their Own Hands: Lawless Law Enforcers in Africa” (Ashgate, 2002), and “Security in Post-Conflict Africa: The Role of Nonstate Policing” (Taylor and Francis, 2009).