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Guide to Rebuilding Governance in Stability Operations: A Role for the Military?

Authored by Derick W. Brinkerhoff, Ronald W. Johnson, Richard Hill. Edited by Professor Susan Merrill.

June 2009

83 Pages

Brief Synopsis

In October 2008, the U.S. Army issued Field Manual 3.07, Stability Operations Doctrine, which identified five key sectors as components of an integrated approach to stabilization and reconstruction (S&R) operations—security, justice and reconciliation, humanitarian assistance and social well-being, participatory governance, and economic stabilization and infrastructure. Government, or governance, has a central role in assuring the successful end-states for transition in each of these sectors. This guide focuses on the military’s role in rebuilding and establishing a functional, effective, and legitimate nation-state; one that can assure security and stability for its citizens, defend its borders, deliver services effectively for its populace, and is responsible and accountable to its citizens. Neither a handbook nor a checklist, the document provides a comprehensive approach to planning and implementing a program to rebuild governance by U.S. peacekeeping forces during stability operations. Recognizing that the extent of U.S. Government and military involvement is determined by the mandate, the mission, the level of resources and most importantly, the host country context, this guide provides options and trade-offs for U.S. forces in executing these operations.

Summary

The Army’s Field Manual (FM) 3-07, Stability Operations Doctrine, identifies five sectors as components of an integrated approach to stability and reconstruction (S&R): security; justice and reconciliation; humanitarian assistance and social well-being; participatory governance; and economic stabilization and infrastructure. Government has an important role in each of these sectors, so attention to restoring, rebuilding, and reforming the public sector in post-conflict societies is critical to achieving the end state conditions that FM 3-07’s stability operations strategy establishes:

• A safe and secure environment;
• Established rule of law;
• Social well-being;
• Stable governance; and,
• A sustainable economy.

FM 3-07 describes two categories of the range of activities in stability operations for achieving these end state conditions: reconstruction and stabilization.

Reconstruction is the process of rebuilding degraded, damaged, or destroyed political, socioeconomic, and physical infrastructure to create the foundation for long-term development.

Stabilization is the process by which underlying tensions that might lead to resurgence in violence and a breakdown in law and order are managed and reduced, while efforts are made to support preconditions for successful long-term development.

This guide examines an intervening force’s contribution to creating a functional state that can deliver services effectively, is responsive and accountable to its citizens, and is capable of assuring security. For each of these three areas, the discussion summarizes key issues, trade-offs, and options for military strategists, planners, and personnel that relate to the restoration and rebuilding of government in the context of full spectrum operations. The guide provides counsel for military personnel in planning and executing stability operations tasks related to lines of operation to rebuild a capable government, but it is neither a blueprint nor a “how to” checklist. It is designed to supplement existing and emerging guidance, fill in gaps, and consolidate from some of these sources information specifically relevant to addressing the needs of public sector rebuilding in post-conflict situations. The material presented draws both from theory and from on-the-ground experience of military and civilian practitioners.

This guide will focus on three central aspects identified above but first will elaborate and clarify the central terminology and concepts—government, governance, and the social contract between citizens and the state. The Guide then discusses the three core functions of a state: 1) effective service delivery; 2) responsiveness to the citizenry; and 3) security. This discussion is set within the context of a review of the state structure or model (federal or unitary) and the relationship between the center and the subnational units (decentralization).

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