Military Reform Within Security Sector Reform in Tajikistan. The Rasht Events as a Turning Point in Setting Priorities for Military Sector Reform and Technical Assistance

Abstract

This study attempts to present a comprehensive analysis of the Security Sector Reform (SSR) with an emphasis on the defence system in Tajikistan since its first years of independence. It identifies the key defence agencies and structures in Tajikistan and provides a detailed picture of the process and conditions of their formation. It is impossible to analyze armed and military reform programs without considering the role of the Committee on National Security (Tajik Security Intelligence Unit) in conducting armed military operations, which had been shownin the 2009-2010 Islamic Insurgencies in the Rasht Valley.Furthermore, this paper discusses the strategic interests of the major powers and neighboring countries in Tajikistan’s stability and their inclination to develop military cooperation. The effectiveness of this regional, international, and intergovernmental cooperation to an extent had been exposed during the Rasht Events, when the armed forces of Tajikistan underwent a catastrophic collapse due to mismanagement and lack of capacity. The reasons for why Tajikistan’s security forces still lack proficiency and face challenges during the military operations, despite all the attempts by state and external actors, are considered to be the high level of corruption, mismanagement, malfunction of rule of law, and lack of transparency.