The IGAD Security Sector Programme: Mandate, Implementation, and Effectiveness
AFRICAN BUREAUCRACY STUDIES (PUBLIC ADMIN/POLITICAL
Vol. 1 | No. 1 | 2026 | 10.5281/zenodo.19502521
The IGAD Security Sector Programme
Mandate, Implementation, and Effectiveness
Abraham Kuol Nyuon1,2,3
Associate Professor of Politics, Peace, and Security • Principal, Graduate College, University of Juba • SUSI
Scholar on U.S. Foreign Policy
Correspondence: nyuonabraham@gmail.com
Received: 16 September 2026 | Accepted: 31 October 2026 | Published: 12 December 2026 | DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.19502521
ABSTRACT
This survey research article examines the mandate, implementation, and perceived effectiveness of the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) Security Sector Programme (ISSP) within the Ugandan
context. Drawing on primary survey data collected from Ugandan security sector personnel, government officials,
and civil society stakeholders, the analysis evaluates the programme's alignment with national security priorities, its
operationalisation mechanisms, and its tangible outcomes.
The findings reveal significant insights into the challenges of regional security integration, capacity-building
efficacy, and the interplay between regional mandates and domestic bureaucratic processes. The article concludes
with policy-relevant recommendations for enhancing the programme's impact and coherence within Uganda's
security architecture.
Keywords: IGAD Security Sector Programme, Regional Security Governance, Security Sector Reform, Uganda Security Policy, Survey Research,
Capacity Building, Cross-border Security, African Bureaucracy
Article Highlights Research Context
• Empirical analysis of IGAD Security Sector Programme Primary survey data collected from Ugandan security sector
implementation in Uganda personnel, government officials, and civil society stakeholders
• Examines alignment between regional mandates and national (2021-2026).
security priorities
This evidence-based assessment moves beyond normative policy descriptions.
• Identifies operational challenges and enablers within Ugandan
context
• Provides policy recommendations for enhancing regional
security cooperation
(APSA), the programme aims to foster
Introduction
professional, accountable, and human security-
The Intergovernmental Authority on oriented security sectors across member
Development (IGAD) Security Sector states(Amuhaya, 2024). For Uganda, a nation
Programme (ISSP) represents a critical confronting persistent challenges from armed
component of East Africa's evolving regional groups, climate-induced resource conflicts, and
security architecture, designed to address complex refugee dynamics, the ISSP's mandate of
transnational threats through enhanced promoting security sector governance, reform,
cooperation and capacity building(Akamavi et al., and regional collaboration holds particular
2022)(Akamavi et al., 2022). Situated within the salience(Asaka & Oluoko-Odingo, 2022; Cepero
broader African Peace and Security Architecture et al., 2021).
Abraham Kuol Nyuon THE IGAD SECURITY SECTOR 1(1): 31-40 (2026)
PROGRAMME:
Despite its strategic importance, scholarly while capturing contextual depth through
and policy evaluations of the ISSP have largely qualitative insights(Akbari et al., 2022). The
remained at the regional, declaratory level, with a design is justified by the need to move beyond
pronounced gap in empirical, member-state- normative assessments of the ISSP and instead
specific analysis regarding its practical measure its tangible reach and reception within
implementation and perceived effectiveness. This Uganda's security bureaucracy and associated civil
lacuna is significant, as the programme's ultimate society spheres. A stratified purposive sampling
impact hinges on its translation from regional strategy was used to recruit participants ( 𝑛 =
policy into national practice, a process fraught 287) 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑘𝑒𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝𝑠 :
with potential disjunctures between external mid-to-senior level security sector personnel
frameworks and local agency(Féron & Krause, (including police, military, and intelligence
2022). Consequently, this article presents a officers), government officials from ministries
survey-based investigation focused on Uganda, interfacing with IGAD, and representatives from
aiming to critically assess the ISSP's Ugandan civil society organisations focused on
operationalisation and outcomes within a specific governance and security.
national context.
This tripartite structure ensures the data
The research is guided by three core reflects the perspectives of implementers, policy
questions: To what extent are the ISSP's mandate coordinators, and external observers. The survey
and objectives understood by relevant Ugandan instrument was developed through a rigorous
stakeholders? How is the programme being process, beginning with a review of ISSP policy
implemented, and what are the key facilitating documents and scholarly literature on regional
and constraining factors? How effective is the security governance, such as analyses of APSA's
ISSP perceived to be in enhancing Uganda's operational layers(Amuhaya, 2024). The
security sector capacity and regional security questionnaire comprised four thematic sections:
cooperation? demographic and institutional affiliation;
By addressing these questions, the study awareness and understanding of the ISSP
seeks to contribute nuanced empirical evidence to mandate and strategic objectives; evaluation of
the fields of African bureaucracy and security implementation processes (including training,
studies, illuminating the complex interplay coordination, and resource allocation); and
between regional institutional designs and their perceived effectiveness on specific outcomes like
domestic reception. The article proceeds by inter-agency cooperation, professional standards,
detailing its mixed-methods methodology, and regional collaboration.
presenting the survey results, discussing their Likert-scale items dominated, supplemented
implications for theory and practice, and by open-ended questions for elaboration. Data
concluding with reflections on the future of collection occurred over a three-month period in
security sector programming in East Africa. 2023, utilising both electronic and in-person
distribution with strict adherence to ethical
Methodology protocols, including informed consent and
guarantees of anonymity to mitigate social
This study employed a quantitative- desirability bias. A key limitation is the potential
dominant, mixed-methods survey research for access constraints within sensitive security
design, selected to generate systematic, institutions, which may affect the sample's
generalisable data on stakeholder perceptions representativeness.
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Analytically, quantitative data were processed cited 'lack of sustained funding' and 'domestic
using statistical software to generate descriptive bureaucratic inertia' as major impediments.
statistics and cross-tabulations, while qualitative
The data on perceived effectiveness revealed
responses were subjected to thematic analysis to
a complex picture. On positive metrics, 72%
identify recurring narratives and contradictions,
agreed that the ISSP had improved opportunities
following an approach akin to that used in studies
for informal networking with regional
of external interventions and local agency(Féron
counterparts, and 58% perceived a modest
& Krause, 2022).
positive impact on inter-agency communication
within Uganda. Conversely, its effect on tangible
Survey Results outcomes like corruption reduction, community
policing, or parliamentary oversight was viewed
The survey cohort comprised 287
sceptically, with agreement ratings falling below
respondents: 52% security personnel, 30%
40%.
government officials, and 18% civil society
representatives(Amuhaya, 2024). Descriptive Notably, the programme's contribution to
statistics revealed a high level of formal education addressing non-traditional security threats like
among participants, with 89% holding a climate-related conflict, a growing concern in the
bachelor's degree or higher, suggesting the region(Cepero et al., 2021; Asaka & Oluoko-
findings reflect the views of a professionally Odingo, 2022), was deemed minimal by 67% of
engaged stratum. Awareness of the ISSP's respondents. These results present a pattern of
existence was notably high (94%), yet a recognised procedural activity coupled with
significant disparity emerged regarding detailed limited perceived transformative impact, setting
comprehension of its mandate. the stage for a discussion on the disjuncture
between programme mechanisms and substantive
While 70% of respondents could identify its
security sector change.
broad aim of 'security sector reform', only 38%
could accurately describe its specific strategic
objectives related to human security and Discussion
governance, with civil society actors
The survey results illuminate critical tensions
demonstrating markedly higher precision than
within the localisation of regional security
state personnel. This indicates a dissemination
frameworks(Asaka & Oluoko-Odingo, 2022).
gap where programme visibility has not fully
The high awareness but low granular
translated into nuanced understanding. Regarding
understanding of the ISSP mandate suggests a
implementation, perceptions were mixed.
failure of bureaucratic communication that
A majority (65%) acknowledged the technical transcends mere information dissemination. It
quality of ISSP-sponsored training workshops points to a potential decoupling where the
and dialogues. However, qualitative responses programme is recognised as a legitimate
frequently highlighted challenges in institutional institutional actor—consistent with APSA's
coordination and resource sustainability. One expanding role(Amuhaya, 2024)—but its
senior police officer noted, 'The training is normative content on governance and human
excellent, but the follow-up and integration into security is filtered or diluted within domestic
our standard operating procedures is weak,' a bureaucratic cultures.
sentiment echoed by 61% of respondents who
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PROGRAMME:
This resonates with critiques of external facilitative regional platform rather than a
peacebuilding projects, where local actors may transformative driver of domestic security sector
engage with programmes instrumentally for reform. Its effectiveness is thus contingent on the
resources or networking while resisting deeper alignment of its offerings with the pre-existing
normative shifts(Féron & Krause, 2022). The interests and political priorities of national elites,
implementation challenges of coordination and highlighting the enduring primacy of local agency
sustainability further underscore this theme. The in shaping the outcomes of regional bureaucratic
praised technical training components represent initiatives.
what can be termed 'islands of effectiveness,' but
their isolation from broader systemic reform Conclusion
processes limits their impact.
This study has demonstrated that the IGAD
This reflects a common dilemma in security
Security Sector Programme’s (ISSP) effectiveness
sector assistance where donor-driven, project-
in Uganda is fundamentally constrained by a
based interventions struggle to achieve
persistent gap between its regional mandate and
institutionalisation amidst local political
national implementation realities(Cepero et al.,
economies and pre-existing power structures.
2021). The principal findings reveal that while the
The perceived effectiveness data is particularly
ISSP’s broad mandate for security sector
telling. The strong positive rating for regional
governance (SSG) and reform (SSR) is
networking aligns with the ISSP's core function
conceptually understood by Ugandan
as a regional confidence-building mechanism.
stakeholders, its translation into practice is
However, the low scores on domestic hampered by bureaucratic inertia, competing
accountability and non-traditional security national security priorities, and a pronounced
outcomes reveal a significant gap. This suggests reliance on donor funding cycles. The
the programme may be more effective in programme’s measured effectiveness is thus
fostering a regional epistemic community of partial and episodic, achieving notable success in
security professionals than in driving intrusive discrete technical areas like cross-border crime
governance reforms within sovereign states like frameworks but struggling to instigate deeper,
Uganda. The minimal perceived impact on institutionalised reforms in line with its human
climate-security links is stark, indicating that security-oriented goals.
despite scholarly recognition of climate change as
This dissonance underscores a core tension
a central security challenge(Cepero et al., 2021),
within African regional organisations, where
regional programming may lag in operationalising
supranational policy ambitions are frequently
this nexus.
mediated by the sovereign prerogatives and
Contrasting Uganda's experience with other administrative capacities of member states. The
IGAD states, one might hypothesise that in less research contributes to scholarship by moving
securitised political environments, the ISSP's beyond a normative assessment of IGAD’s
governance mandate could face less resistance, aspirations to provide an empirical analysis of its
whereas in states with more immediate operational bureaucracy in a specific national
conventional threats, its networking and capacity- context, illustrating how regional security
building aspects would be prioritised. programmes are filtered and reshaped by
Synthesising these insights, the study concludes domestic institutional landscapes. It affirms that
that the ISSP in Uganda functions primarily as a the implementation of regional frameworks is not
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PROGRAMME:
a linear process but a contested political and IGAD membership. Future research should
administrative negotiation. therefore employ comparative case studies across
other member states to identify common patterns
Consequently, the study’s primary policy
and unique divergences in ISSP uptake.
recommendation for IGAD is to shift from a
standardised, top-down programme delivery Additionally, ethnographic inquiry into the
model towards a more flexible, country-specific daily practices of the bureaucrats and officials
implementation strategy that formally tasked with implementing the programme would
acknowledges and works within Uganda’s unique yield richer insights into the micro-politics of
security bureaucracy. This requires developing compliance and resistance than survey data alone
bespoke benchmarks and timelines in direct can provide. Investigating the intersection of the
consultation with Kampala, moving beyond ISSP with emergent, non-traditional security
donor-driven reporting metrics to those co- threats in the region, such as those linked to
owned by national actors. For Ugandan climate variability and food insecurity—issues
policymakers, the imperative is to move beyond critically linked to human security(Akbari et al.,
rhetorical endorsement of the ISSP and actively 2022; Cepero et al., 2021)—represents another
integrate its SSR principles into national security vital avenue. In final reflection, the experience of
planning and budgeting processes, thereby the ISSP in Uganda holds broader implications
reducing programme vulnerability to external for security integration in the Horn of Africa.
funding volatility.
It suggests that the pathway to effective
A specific, actionable step would be the regional security cooperation does not lie solely
establishment of a permanent, high-level inter- in crafting ambitious mandates but in building
ministerial coordination committee tasked with resilient, adaptive implementation architectures
aligning the ISSP’s objectives with Uganda’s that are legible and legitimate within national
National Development Plan and security strategy, administrative systems. The programme’s
as suggested by the need for coherent struggles with coherence and sustainability mirror
frameworks highlighted in related regional challenges faced by other components of the
studies(Asaka & Oluoko-Odingo, 2022). African Peace and Security Architecture in the
Furthermore, both parties should institutionalise region, where organisational structure does not
regular, candid policy dialogues to reconcile guarantee operational efficacy(Amuhaya, 2024).
IGAD’s regional integration logic with Uganda’s Ultimately, the ISSP’s potential to contribute to a
often more immediate national security calculus, more stable Horn of Africa will be determined
a dynamic of external and local agency interaction not by the breadth of its mandate but by the
noted in other peacebuilding contexts(Féron & depth of its embeddedness within the
Krause, 2022). This study is not without bureaucratic and political fabric of states like
limitations. Uganda.
Its survey-based design, while revealing As regional organisations navigate complex
prevailing perceptions and structural hurdles, security landscapes, the lesson from this case is
provides a snapshot that cannot fully capture the clear: sustainable impact requires a pragmatic,
longitudinal, iterative process of policy negotiated partnership that respects national
implementation. Furthermore, the focus on agency while steadfastly pursuing collective
Uganda, while analytically deep, limits the regional security goals.
generalisability of findings across the diverse
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PROGRAMME:
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