One of the research projects at the CUS on Urban Security has been Prof. Rivke Jaffe's ERC-funded project on public-private security assemblages. In the video below, she explains what this project is about.

 Across the world, we see processes of security privatization and pluralization. Increasingly, people’s lives and property are protected by uniformed security guards, by voluntary neighbourhood watches, and in many cases also by armed vigilantes. These private security providers don’t necessarily compete with public security forces such as the police. Often, they collaborate. Together, they are central to what we call public-private security assemblages. Protecting citizens and maintaining public order have traditionally been seen as core state functions. The monopoly on the legitimate use of violence has been central to definitions of the state. So what does it mean when the state actively shares this monopoly? Focusing on security assemblages, my research team is looking for new ways to understand transformations in governance and citizenship. We ask: what happens to governance when private security providers take on a public role? But also: how does this impact the relationships between citizens and the state?