INTERNATIONAL POLICY ANALYSIS Changing security governance Lessons for external support from Southeast Asia,„ Southern Africa, and Latin America SARAH BROCKMEIER AND PHILIPP ROTMANN March 2018 „ „ This paper argues that creating informal dialogue platforms can constitute an effec­tive way of pursuing a political approach to external support of security sector gov­ernance and reforms(SSG/R). Based on a cross-cutting evaluation of the Friedrich­Ebert-Stiftung’s(FES) work on SSG/R over the last decade, this paper presents con­crete examples of engagement in security sector reform processes from Asia, Latin America, and Southern Africa. „ „ The paper distinguishes between two interrelated approaches to stimulating change in the security sector: supporting regional dialogue, and strengthening national con­stituencies for change. Based on the experience of FES, this paper develops four ideal-typical contexts that can be used as a guideline for selecting the most realistic possibilities and most promising shape of SSG/R work. „ „ This paper finds that regional dialogue work can enable broader open discussions on necessary reforms, even in a climate of»closing spaces.« Regional discussions can generate entry points by including broader issues related to(in)security and safety, building trust and networks among actors from the security sector, politics and civil society. „ „ This regional work can eventually trigger national-level dialogue and inject ideas into national conversations on SSG/R. Where there are national actors with the capacity and ambition for political change, sustained and long-term support to reform con­stituencies can enable thorough reform debates on a national level and, in some cases, lead to the eventual formulation of concrete policy proposals for better secu­rity sector governance.