No Cover Image

E-Thesis 322 views 2025 downloads

Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2... / Chris Morris

Swansea University Author: Chris Morris

  • Morris_Christopher_J_B_PhD_Thesis_Final_Cronfa.pdf

    PDF | E-Thesis – open access

    Copyright: The Author, Christopher J.B. Morris, 2025.

    Download (2.33MB)

DOI (Published version): 10.23889/SUthesis.69801

Abstract

This thesis critically examines British counterinsurgency and security sector reform practices through a comparative analysis of three cases: the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960), the Kenyan Emergency (1952–1960), and the British-led military intervention in Sierra Leone (2000–2002). It explores how Br...

Full description

Published: Swansea, Wales, UK 2025
Institution: Swansea University
Degree level: Doctoral
Degree name: Ph.D
Supervisor: Peters, Krijn
URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa69801
first_indexed 2025-06-23T15:04:45Z
last_indexed 2025-06-24T04:56:15Z
id cronfa69801
recordtype RisThesis
fullrecord <?xml version="1.0"?><rfc1807><datestamp>2025-06-23T16:18:27.1500731</datestamp><bib-version>v2</bib-version><id>69801</id><entry>2025-06-23</entry><title>Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002)</title><swanseaauthors><author><sid>462a583cffe87868ae6630c67940e923</sid><firstname>Chris</firstname><surname>Morris</surname><name>Chris Morris</name><active>true</active><ethesisStudent>false</ethesisStudent></author></swanseaauthors><date>2025-06-23</date><deptcode>SOSS</deptcode><abstract>This thesis critically examines British counterinsurgency and security sector reform practices through a comparative analysis of three cases: the Malayan Emergency (1948&#x2013;1960), the Kenyan Emergency (1952&#x2013;1960), and the British-led military intervention in Sierra Leone (2000&#x2013;2002). It explores how British interventions have consistently prioritised security sector stabilisation as a means of restoring order, and how this approach has shaped the trajectory of post-conflict governance, institutional reform, and peacebuilding outcomes. Employing a comparative methodology, the study draws on original archival research in the UK National Archives and fieldwork in Sierra Leone, including interviews with political, security, and civil society actors. It engages critically with both counterinsurgency doctrine and normative security sector reform (SSR) frameworks, particularly those emphasising accountability, local ownership, and positive peace, to assess how British practices align with or diverge from these principles in theory and implementation. The thesis finds that while British interventions have often succeeded in restoring state authority and suppressing insurgency, they have also embedded securitised governance structures that constrain democratic development. Across the three cases, SSR was frequently subordinated to the imperative of short-term stability, limiting the prospects for inclusive political settlements and sustainable institutional transformation. This dynamic is conceptualised as a security&#x2013;democratic governance nexus, through which security provision both enables and restricts the development of accountable governance. By bridging archival and field-based research, this thesis provides original insight into the continuity of British interventionist logics from the colonial to the post-colonial era. This thesis challenges liberal peacebuilding assumptions about linear transitions from order to reform and calls for greater alignment between stabilisation efforts and the principles of democratic security governance from the outset of intervention.</abstract><type>E-Thesis</type><journal/><volume/><journalNumber/><paginationStart/><paginationEnd/><publisher/><placeOfPublication>Swansea, Wales, UK</placeOfPublication><isbnPrint/><isbnElectronic/><issnPrint/><issnElectronic/><keywords>Conflict, Development, Counterinsurgency, Security Sector Reform, Security Sector Stabilisation, Policing Reform, Military Reform, Sierra Leone, Malayan Emergency, Kenyan Emergency, Post-Conflict Reconstruction</keywords><publishedDay>17</publishedDay><publishedMonth>6</publishedMonth><publishedYear>2025</publishedYear><publishedDate>2025-06-17</publishedDate><doi>10.23889/SUthesis.69801</doi><url/><notes/><college>COLLEGE NANME</college><department>Social Sciences School</department><CollegeCode>COLLEGE CODE</CollegeCode><DepartmentCode>SOSS</DepartmentCode><institution>Swansea University</institution><supervisor>Peters, Krijn</supervisor><degreelevel>Doctoral</degreelevel><degreename>Ph.D</degreename><apcterm/><funders/><projectreference/><lastEdited>2025-06-23T16:18:27.1500731</lastEdited><Created>2025-06-23T16:01:23.2678245</Created><path><level id="1">Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences</level><level id="2">School of Social Sciences - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations</level></path><authors><author><firstname>Chris</firstname><surname>Morris</surname><order>1</order></author></authors><documents><document><filename>69801__34554__d8a3d222a7f14f878e80cff55fda74e6.pdf</filename><originalFilename>Morris_Christopher_J_B_PhD_Thesis_Final_Cronfa.pdf</originalFilename><uploaded>2025-06-23T16:10:42.3206993</uploaded><type>Output</type><contentLength>2441253</contentLength><contentType>application/pdf</contentType><version>E-Thesis &#x2013; open access</version><cronfaStatus>true</cronfaStatus><documentNotes>Copyright: The Author, Christopher J.B. Morris, 2025.</documentNotes><copyrightCorrect>true</copyrightCorrect><language>eng</language></document></documents><OutputDurs/></rfc1807>
spelling 2025-06-23T16:18:27.1500731 v2 69801 2025-06-23 Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002) 462a583cffe87868ae6630c67940e923 Chris Morris Chris Morris true false 2025-06-23 SOSS This thesis critically examines British counterinsurgency and security sector reform practices through a comparative analysis of three cases: the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960), the Kenyan Emergency (1952–1960), and the British-led military intervention in Sierra Leone (2000–2002). It explores how British interventions have consistently prioritised security sector stabilisation as a means of restoring order, and how this approach has shaped the trajectory of post-conflict governance, institutional reform, and peacebuilding outcomes. Employing a comparative methodology, the study draws on original archival research in the UK National Archives and fieldwork in Sierra Leone, including interviews with political, security, and civil society actors. It engages critically with both counterinsurgency doctrine and normative security sector reform (SSR) frameworks, particularly those emphasising accountability, local ownership, and positive peace, to assess how British practices align with or diverge from these principles in theory and implementation. The thesis finds that while British interventions have often succeeded in restoring state authority and suppressing insurgency, they have also embedded securitised governance structures that constrain democratic development. Across the three cases, SSR was frequently subordinated to the imperative of short-term stability, limiting the prospects for inclusive political settlements and sustainable institutional transformation. This dynamic is conceptualised as a security–democratic governance nexus, through which security provision both enables and restricts the development of accountable governance. By bridging archival and field-based research, this thesis provides original insight into the continuity of British interventionist logics from the colonial to the post-colonial era. This thesis challenges liberal peacebuilding assumptions about linear transitions from order to reform and calls for greater alignment between stabilisation efforts and the principles of democratic security governance from the outset of intervention. E-Thesis Swansea, Wales, UK Conflict, Development, Counterinsurgency, Security Sector Reform, Security Sector Stabilisation, Policing Reform, Military Reform, Sierra Leone, Malayan Emergency, Kenyan Emergency, Post-Conflict Reconstruction 17 6 2025 2025-06-17 10.23889/SUthesis.69801 COLLEGE NANME Social Sciences School COLLEGE CODE SOSS Swansea University Peters, Krijn Doctoral Ph.D 2025-06-23T16:18:27.1500731 2025-06-23T16:01:23.2678245 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Social Sciences - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations Chris Morris 1 69801__34554__d8a3d222a7f14f878e80cff55fda74e6.pdf Morris_Christopher_J_B_PhD_Thesis_Final_Cronfa.pdf 2025-06-23T16:10:42.3206993 Output 2441253 application/pdf E-Thesis – open access true Copyright: The Author, Christopher J.B. Morris, 2025. true eng
title Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002)
spellingShingle Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002)
Chris Morris
title_short Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002)
title_full Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002)
title_fullStr Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002)
title_full_unstemmed Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002)
title_sort Security Sector Reform and British Counterinsurgency: The Immediate- and Medium-Term Impacts of Prioritising Security in the Malayan Emergency (1948-60), the Kenyan Emergency (1952-60) and the Sierra Leone Military Intervention (2000-2002)
author_id_str_mv 462a583cffe87868ae6630c67940e923
author_id_fullname_str_mv 462a583cffe87868ae6630c67940e923_***_Chris Morris
author Chris Morris
author2 Chris Morris
format E-Thesis
publishDate 2025
institution Swansea University
doi_str_mv 10.23889/SUthesis.69801
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Social Sciences - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Social Sciences - Politics, Philosophy and International Relations
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description This thesis critically examines British counterinsurgency and security sector reform practices through a comparative analysis of three cases: the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960), the Kenyan Emergency (1952–1960), and the British-led military intervention in Sierra Leone (2000–2002). It explores how British interventions have consistently prioritised security sector stabilisation as a means of restoring order, and how this approach has shaped the trajectory of post-conflict governance, institutional reform, and peacebuilding outcomes. Employing a comparative methodology, the study draws on original archival research in the UK National Archives and fieldwork in Sierra Leone, including interviews with political, security, and civil society actors. It engages critically with both counterinsurgency doctrine and normative security sector reform (SSR) frameworks, particularly those emphasising accountability, local ownership, and positive peace, to assess how British practices align with or diverge from these principles in theory and implementation. The thesis finds that while British interventions have often succeeded in restoring state authority and suppressing insurgency, they have also embedded securitised governance structures that constrain democratic development. Across the three cases, SSR was frequently subordinated to the imperative of short-term stability, limiting the prospects for inclusive political settlements and sustainable institutional transformation. This dynamic is conceptualised as a security–democratic governance nexus, through which security provision both enables and restricts the development of accountable governance. By bridging archival and field-based research, this thesis provides original insight into the continuity of British interventionist logics from the colonial to the post-colonial era. This thesis challenges liberal peacebuilding assumptions about linear transitions from order to reform and calls for greater alignment between stabilisation efforts and the principles of democratic security governance from the outset of intervention.
published_date 2025-06-17T05:25:38Z
_version_ 1851550689474379776
score 11.090071

Similar Items