Towards a Security Policy for Democracy
The project "Towards a Security Policy for Democracy", also known as POLSEDE, emerged after the Armed Conflict within the context of a polarized State, Army and Civil Society. Its objective was to initiate a dialogue between the different sectors of the country to discuss a Security Policy, which in the medium and long term was aimed at an effective consolidation for democracy. The project was developed in three distinct phases: the preparatory phase, the preliminary research phase, and the research-action phase. This last phase was based on the Participation-Action-Research method of the War-Torn Societies Project: five intersectorial working groups were formed - which met 193 times over 4 years - as well as a research team of national academics. Together, they carried out the process of research, analysis and political mobilization, which laid the foundations for a defense policy, and the creation of the Guatemalan Democratic Security Network and the Preparatory Commission for the establishment of a Security Advisory Council. In addition, within the time period of the project, various conferences and seminars were held to strengthen dialogue.
Institutional design
Formalization: is the innovation embedded in the constitution or legislation, in an administrative act, or not formalized at all?
Frequency: how often does the innovation take place: only once, sporadically, or is it permanent or regular?
Mode of Selection of Participants: is the innovation open to all participants, access is restricted to some kind of condition, or both methods apply?
Type of participants: those who participate are individual citizens, civil society organizations, private stakeholders or a combination of those?
Decisiveness: does the innovation takes binding, non-binding or no decision at all?
Co-governance: is there involvement of the government in the process or not?
- Formalization
- embedded in the constitution/legislation
- Frequency
- regular
- Mode of selection of participants
- restricted
- Type of participants
- citizens civil society private stakeholders
- Decisiveness
- democratic innovation yields a non-binding decision
- Co-Governance
- yes
Means
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Ends
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