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Countries in transition are countries that are going through a passage or passing from one condition to the other or one situation to the other. The transition is a changing situation that is based on an action or movement from one activity to the other. The individuals who navigate the passage create internalization during the changing period (Davies & Bailey, 2018). The passage creates a unique environment that requires a change-oriented leadership for its effectiveness due to the risk aspect of the change. The leader and the led are expected to play important leadership roles during the transition to overcome the turbulence that may go alongside the passage or to overcome the creation of violence that propel chaos and anarchy (Dewey, 2012).
Countries in transition go through remarkable experience or movement that creates disorderliness that make some people either more comfortable or uncomfortable leading to some injustices and massive violation of human rights in some countries (Staub, 2019). The violations bring about tensions resulting in actions that call for police leaders’ intervention to curb the resulting criminal activities or violations of legitimate rights. In many countries, transitional injustice has become a challenge based on the notion that the old order is dying, and the new order is being born (Borain, 2006). Police leaders in countries in transition are confronted with the problem of dealing with the past situation and the unknown challenges (risk) ahead and how to ensure sustainable peace and justice. The research question guiding this study, “What are the critical roles played by police leaders in countries in transition?” The purpose of this study is to explore the roles and responsibilities of police leaders in countries in transition as the leaders become accountable to the people. The main focus of the paper is on countries under political transition and the exploration is from a risk mitigation point of view.
Qualitative studies are guided by conceptual frameworks that provoke the researchers to think deep on establishing new ideas based on existing scientific knowledge (De Simone, Maruis, & Groen, 2015). This study is guided by the social constructivism conceptual framework which states that objective knowledge is obtained from experience gained through social processes from which meaning is constructed. The research is based on social constructivism conceptual framework because the researcher perceives that through social interactions with the participants through interviews and other means the real meaning of what police leadership roles in countries in transition will be revealed.
The focus of this study is to consider the major critical factors in transferring the leadership principles of police leaders into enhanced leadership practices during transitional periods in order to manage the risk that the transition brings (Ellis, 2014). Other issues that this paper makes exploration into include during military takeover regimes, the roles expected of the police leaders. These concerns prompted this researcher to study the phenomenon under consideration. The social constructivism framework that guides this research enhances the exploratory work of this study since ideas obtained through social construction may contribute significantly to the existing scientific knowledge.
Ghana is a typical country that has gone through various transitional situations since its independence as highlighted below. The country has gone through both democratic and dictatorial transitional regimes and the experiences from police leaders from Ghana who are abreast with the role of the police leaders during such transitional periods contribute significant scientific knowledge to this study.