HomeInternational Peace and Co-existence Program
Assoc. prof. SIMANGAN DAHLIA COLLADO (simangan[at]hiroshima-u.ac.jp)
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IPC Seminar
Topic: Governing Security, Advancing Peace: Civil Society at the Crossroads of Security Sector Reform and SDG-16
Speaker: Aries A. Arugay (University of the Philippines, Diliman)
Date&Time: Friday 29 May 2026, 13:00 -14:00
Venue: IDEC Large Conference Room
Language: English
Abstract: Civil society has become a crucial actor in global discourses on democratization, good governance, sustainable development, and security. This seminar examines how civil society contributes to Security Sector Reform (SSR) and the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 16 (SDG-16) on peace, justice, and strong institutions. It contends that civil society’s effectiveness in advancing SSR and SDG-16 hinges on the interaction of endogenous factors—such as plurality, robustness, and civility—with exogenous variables including regime type, state capacity, and relations with security institutions. These dynamics shape three principal roles for civil society: as agents of democratic accountability and oversight; as spaces for alternative discourses on security and development; and as providers of community-oriented security. Drawing on comparative case studies from the Philippines, Tunisia, and Somalia, the lecture highlights variations in these roles, their tangible contributions and limitations, and the broader implications for sustaining SSR and accelerating progress toward SDG-16.
Aries A. Arugay is Visiting Research Scholar at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University. He is also Professor of Political Science at the University of the Philippines Diliman and Editor-in-Chief of Asian Politics & Policy. Aries is Visiting Senior Fellow and Coordinator of the Philippine Studies Programme at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute (Singapore). He is co-editor of Games, Changes & Fears: The Philippines from Duterte to Marcos Jr. (ISEAS, 2024) and The Routledge Handbook of Security Sector Reform (2026). His research has been published in International Affairs, American Behavioral Scientist, Pacific Affairs, and Journal of Development Studies, etc.
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