The maritime domain is of critical importance to global trade, communications, power relations, and environmental sustainability. Yet many states lack the capacity to properly police their maritime territories. Building this capacity is an important aspect of maritime security sector reform. This is a complex undertaking, involving multiple different agencies, often in close cooperation with other users of the sea and working across different jurisdictions.

In this SSR Backgrounder, we consider the challenges and opportunities of security sector reform and governance in the maritime sector.