Changing the Guard

From "failed states" such as Haiti, to countries undergoing political transformation, such as Russia, Afghanistan, and Iraq, democratic reform has grown enormously since the end of the Cold War in 1991. Every day the American government, the United Nations, and other international institutions send people into non-English speaking, war-torn, and often minimally democratic countries struggling to cope with rising crime and disorder under a new regime. These assistance missions attempt to promote democratic law enforcement in devastated countries. But do these missions really facilitate the creation of effective policing? Is it realistic to expect that they succeed? Renowned criminologist David H. Bayley here examines the prospects for the reform of police forces overseas as a means of encouraging the development of democratic governments. In doing so, he assesses obstacles for promoting democratic policing in a state-of-the-art review of all efforts to promote democratic reform since 1991. Changing the Guard offers an inside look at the achievements and limits of current foreign assistance, outlining the nature and scope of police assistance programs and the agencies that provide it.