Locating 'the informal' in security and justice programming

In current debates on security and justice programming, it has repeatedly been confirmed that what we refer to as ‘informal’ and ‘non-state’ have to be taken into account. They always shape the art of the possible.

In a blog post for the Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law, Peter Albrecht, Senior Researcher at DIIS, explores how what we refer to as the informal – clan identity, traditional leaders, etc. – must be not only understood, but also incorporated into the design and implementation process of programming.

Three points are particularly important to keep in mind in this regard:

• Programming must be built on already existing structures of authority and institutions;
• Whatever we consider the informal is not a ‘local’ phenomenon;
• It is always political and therefore exists at both the national and local level.