Experience shows that successful democratic transitions need to be underpinned by a security sector that is well managed and accountable to the state and its citizens. This is why it is so important to carefully examine security sector governance dynamics in contexts where security has often remained a ‘reserved domain’. Security Sector Governance in Francophone West Africa: Realities and Opportunities draws on the close contextual knowledge of practitioners, researchers and diverse local actors in order to analyse security sector governance dynamics in the nine francophone states within West Africa. Strengths and weaknesses are analysed, local capacities evaluated, and entry points identified to promote democratic security sector governance in the West African region.