Partnerships and International Policing: The Reach and Limits of Policy Processes

Although the concept of partnership offers little substantively new to the theory and practice of peace operations, it provides a useful political frame to advance reform efforts in UN policing. In the last few years, several improvements have been made in doctrine, training and increasing the pace of deployment. However, the case of Timor-Leste suggests that these efforts have not resulted in obvious improvements in the abilities of the UN Police (UNPOL) to carry out their mandated functions. Solutions offered by the New Horizon agenda are technical and do not address the political dimensions of the problems encountered in field missions. In Timor-Leste, the host government is not interested in engaging in a partnership with UNPOL. Problems with international policing may be so deep, complex and subject to politics that even substantial process-oriented solutions will not achieve significant results.