Ena Dion, is a senior program officer at the U.S. Institute of Peace, where she leads the Justices and Security Dialogue (JSD) Project in the Sahel and the Maghreb. The project brings together stakeholders in Senegal, Mali Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Tunisia at the community level to strengthen rule of law and security by building lines of communication, increasing trust, promoting accountability, and providing input on justice and security reform needs and options. Before joining the JSD Project, she worked with the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law (INPROL), managing the rule of law online forum, and INPROL’s Afghanistan programming.

Dion’s previous experience includes providing technical support in the area of constitution-making to the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq and the Republic of Fiji's Constitutional Commission, and working on access to justice projects with International Bridges to Justice in Cambodia. She has also worked with the International Network for Economic Social and Cultural Rights, and with William and Mary Law School’s Center for Comparative Legal Studies and Post-Conflict Peacebuilding. Her work at USIP focuses on improving the effectiveness of rule of law projects.

Dion graduated cum laude with a juris doctor from William and Mary School of Law and holds a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and political science from McGill University.

Publications By Ena

Countering Coups: How to Prevent Armed Seizures of Power

Countering Coups: How to Prevent Armed Seizures of Power

Thursday, February 17, 2022

By: Thomas P. Sheehy;  Edward A. Burrier;  Ena Dion;  Emily Cole

Armies have seized power in five states of the greater Sahel over nine months, cementing this African region as the most pronounced center of a global crisis. The Sahel’s military coups d’état are an acute symptom of poor and authoritarian governance that is breeding extremism and transnational criminality, igniting violence and undermining efforts to build democracies. These crises highlight widening security risks for the Sahel’s 135 million people and ultimately for Europe and the United States. Congress has begun urgently needed policy changes that analysts say should now be accelerated to prevent further coups and to buttress stability and democracy.

Type: Analysis

Democracy & GovernanceGlobal Policy

After Two Coups, Mali Needs Regional Support to Bolster Democracy

After Two Coups, Mali Needs Regional Support to Bolster Democracy

Thursday, December 9, 2021

By: Ena Dion;  Joseph Sany, Ph.D.

Amid a 15-year global democratic recession, the Biden administration is convening over a hundred nations this week to revitalize democracy. This comes at a critical juncture, as democracy’s defenders are reeling from the growing challenges posed by authoritarian foes. The West African country of Mali puts these challenges in stark relief, after the country experienced two coups in a year. Underlying the crisis of coups in Mali is a deeper crisis of state legitimacy, which has been exacerbated by Western security assistance overly focused on short-term counterterrorism gains.

Type: Analysis

Civilian-Military RelationsDemocracy & Governance

How International Security Support Contributed to Mali’s Coup

How International Security Support Contributed to Mali’s Coup

Monday, September 21, 2020

By: Ena Dion;  Emily Cole

Since a 2012 coup, Mali has received significant security assistance from United States, France, the European Union and other foreign donors to address violent extremism and insurgency and help stabilize the country. In the wake of the August military coup, it is clear that strategy has backfired—and that, in fact, the failure of international security sector assistance to prioritize governance likely contributed to the conditions that led to the coup.

Type: Analysis

Justice, Security & Rule of Law

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