REIMAGINING SECURITY GOVERNANCE IN THE ERA OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS: IMPLICATIONS FOR PEACE, JUSTICE, AND STRONG INSTITUTIONS (SDG 16)

The adoption of £16 in 2015 represented a paradigm shift in international development thinking, explicitly recognizing that peace, justice, and institutional effectiveness are not merely development outcomes but foundational prerequisites for its achievement. Yet, a decade later, with the 2030 deadline approaching, empirical assessments reveal a sobering reality: progress toward SDG 16 has stalled globally, with deterioration across multiple regions as key indicators on security, corruption, and access to justice show deterioration. This paper argues that the conventional state-centric model of security governance, which prioritizes institutional capacity and technical efficiency over human security and democratic accountability, has reached its conceptual and practical limits. Drawing on empirical data from Eurostat (2025), the Sustainable Development Goal Index, and detailed case studies from The Gambia, Colombia, Kenya, and the Western Balkans, we propose a reimagined framework for security governance organized around three pillars: people-centered security, inclusive institutional architecture, and accountability ecosystems. Our analysis demonstrates that successful security governance reform is correlated with governance models that integrate community-level participation, independent oversight mechanisms, and multi-stakeholder accountability. The paper concludes with actionable policy recommendations for revitalizing £16 implementation in the remaining years before 2030 and outlines a research agenda for post-2030 sustainable development frameworks.