IFIT Launches Security Engagement Practice Group

The Institute for Integrated Transitions (IFIT) is pleased to announce the establishment of the Security Engagement Practice Group (SEPG): a distinguished group of global experts focused on advancing constructive engagement between civic groups and state security actors in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

Civic groups and state security actors in these contexts often operate at a distance from one another – a separation that can deepen mistrust and limit opportunities for meaningful policy dialogue. The SEPG aims to help close the gap by providing practical analysis and advice to civic and security stakeholders alike on how to identify, cultivate and sustain trust-building engagement and dialogue.

Comprised of 15 retired senior military figures, civil-military relations specialists, security sector reform experts, and civic diplomats, the establishment of the SEPG builds on IFIT’s in-country engagements with civic groups and state security actors worldwide, and draws on findings from IFIT’s groundbreaking multiyear study, Dialogue with State Security Actors in Hybrid Regimes: Recommendations for Constructive Engagement.