The volume, intended to function as an academic debate-book, began as a workshop on Human Rights and the Police in Transitional Countries held in March 2001 in Hillerxd, Denmark. The workshop, which was funded by the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, brought together practitioners and academics from Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America to discuss common experience from the context of transition, which characterises all of them. These discussions take place along four themes, i.e. the transitional context, governance and rule of law; police and civil society; education and training; and the police organisation and reform, international intervention and aid. In addition to a number of key papers on general and theoretical aspects, each section contains a number of illustrative examples of how these issues express themselves in a large number of countries. Finally, the book sums up a catalogue of findings and recommendations in relation to the promotion of human rights in transitional countries and the role of the police in this work.