United States of America

In the modern era, political leaders and scholars have declared the rule of law to be essential to democracy, a necessity for economic growth, and a crucial tool in the fight for security at home and stability abroad. The United States has spent billions attemptingto catalyze rule-of-law improvements within other countries. Yet despite the importance of the goal to core foreign policy needs, and the hard work of hundreds of practitioners on the ground, the track record of successful rule-of-law promotion has been paltry. In Advancing the Rule of Law Abroad, Rachel Kleinfeld describes the history and current state of reform efforts and the growing movement of second-generation reformers who view the rule of law not as a collection of institutions and laws that can be built by outsiders, but as a relationship between the state and society that must be shaped by those inside the country for lasting change. Based on research in countries from Indonesia to Albania, Kleinfeld makes a compelling case for new methods of reform that can have greater chances of success. This book offers a comprehensive overview of this growing area of policy action where diplomacy and aid meet the domestic policies of other states. Its insights into the practical methods and moral complexities of supporting reform within other countrieswill be useful to practitioners and students alike.

America faces a 21st century challenged by military and political competition with the Soviet Union, terrorism in the Third World, and economic competition with Asia and Europe. Our weaknesses are due as much as anything to our lack of strategic vision. We lack effective systems for systematic, long-range planning and an ability to think about long-range agendas for large institutions. This book is a key building block to development of American strategic vision, long-range planning, innovation and thinking about the future. The effort to look at the Air Force experience, to consider a surprise-free future for dealing with the Soviet Union, and to outline the fundamental questions of an introductory model for long-range planning will be helpful to everyone who is concerned about America's defense establishment and about America's future.

Soon after the coalition’s occupation of Iraq began in April 2003, it became evident that prewar assumptions about the security situation that would follow the ouster of Saddam Hussein had been unduly optimistic. The environment was not benign—in fact, it was deteriorating. Iraqi security forces had largely disintegrated, and those that remained were incapable of responding to rising criminality and political violence. In this environment, the coalition confronted three security imperatives: (1) to restore order and neutralize insurgents and terrorists; (2) to rebuild Iraqi security forces, which could eventually take on responsibility for Iraq’s security; and (3) to build security sector institutions, such as national security management institutions, the interior and defense ministries, and the justice sector, to ensure that the Iraqi security sector could be an effective bulwark for a democratic Iraq in the future.

At the time that the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) handed over authority to the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG) on June 28, 2004, it was clear that the coalition had made little progress in the first task. Insurgent and terrorist violence was escalating, organized crime was flourishing, and the security situation was threatening both the political transition and the reconstruction program. The coalition’s record on the second and third tasks, however, is somewhat less simply categorized. From April 2003, the coalition embarked on efforts to rapidly field Iraqi security forces and to build security sector institutions. This effort was broad in scope, but its implementation was patchy, its results were varying, and its ultimate success or failure remains difficult to determine. Significant analysis has focused on the inability of the coalition to adequately counter political violence and crime in post-Saddam Iraq. There has also been considerable discussion about the coalition’s effort to develop Iraqi security forces. The matter of institutionbuilding, however, has been largely ignored by observers and policymakers; it is often seen as a long-term issue that is too far removed from immediate security needs. But the three efforts are interdependent: Iraq’s future security depends on its indigenous security forces, and these forces’ success and sustainability depend on the institutions that support them. This report concerns itself with the efforts to build both forces and institutions in Iraq. It provides a historical record of the coalition’s experience and seeks, insofar as is possible at this early stage, to draw lessons from the successes and failures of that experience.

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This book explores the problem of states that fail, leading to conflict and war, and how to rebuild them. Focusing on governance as critical to post-conflict reconstruction, the contributors illustrate the connections among the core functions that governance fulfills in any society: assuring security, achieving effective provision of public goods and services, and generating legitimacy. This volume brings together chapters by scholars and practitioners studying and working on governance issues from a variety of perspectives. Divided into three sections, this volume opens by taking a fresh look at the historical record on nation-building, constitutional design in deeply divided societies, the dynamics of elections, and governance of the security sector. It then explores the range of actors involved in governance reconstruction and highlights the evolving role of the US military, the influence of multinational firms, the importance of the civil service, and the potential impact of Internet-based diasporas. Finally, it looks at local governance, highlighting the subnational state-society structures and relations in fragile and post-conflict states, and draws on case studies from Latin America, Africa, and Afghanistan." "This book will be of much interest to students of international public administration, global governance, post-conflict reconstruction, foreign policy and international relations in general, as well as to practitioners in the field.

This guide, published by USAID’s Office of Democracy and Governance, is aimed at USAID democracy and governance (DG) officers and other USAID staff who are developing strategies to address weak or inadequate justice systems. It provides a conceptual framework for analysing challenges to the rule of law, as well as guidelines for conducting a justice sector assessment and for designing and prioritising program interventions.

The document outlines a four-step framework for assessing the justice sector:

1. A broad look at the political and historical context as it affects the rule of law;
2. An analysis of the roles of major players who affect the rule of law and political will;
3. Examination of the programme options beyond the justice sector;
4. An in depth examination of the justice system itself exploring order and security, legitimacy, checks and balances, fairness and effective application.

Appendix A includes a series of illustrative assessment questions which can be used in the institutional assessment of the justice sector.

This handbook, published by the United States Joint Force Command, defines the “Rule of Law;” explains the interrelationship between rule of law, governance, and security; and provides a template to analyze the rule of law foundation essential to successful stability operations.

Until recently, governments and militaries have preferred to focus attention and resources on conventional military operations rather than stabilization and reconstruction missions. Thus, skills and capacities for the latter set of missions have remained underdeveloped or have been allowed to atrophy. U.S. experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan have demonstrated, however, that improving U.S. capacity for stabilization and reconstruction operations is critical to national security. To help craft a way ahead, the authors provide an overview of the requirements posed by stabilization and reconstruction operations and recommend ways to improve U.S. capacity to meet these needs. Among other findings, the authors suggest that the United States

• emphasize building civilian rather than military capacity
• realign and reform existing agencies rather than creating new organizations
• fund and implement the Civilian Stabilization Initiative
• improve deployable police capacity
• develop stronger crisis-management processes
• ensure coherent guidance and funding.

The U.S. Government has recently issued seven major studies that together put forth a comprehensive blueprint for major global changes in U.S. national security strategy, defense plans, and diplomacy. These seven studies are brought together in this illuminating book, which portrays their individual contents and complex interrelationships and evaluates their strengths and shortfalls. It argues that while these studies are well-written, cogently argued, and articulate many valuable innovations for the Department of Defense, Department of State, and other government agencies, all of them leave lingering, controversial issues that require further thinking and analysis as future U.S. national security policy evolves in a changing and dangerous world. For all readers, this book offers a quick, readable way to grasp and critique the many changes now sweeping over the new U.S. approach to global security affairs.

Reforms of local police forces in conflict or post-conflict areas need to be dealt with in order to create a certain level of security for the local people. This volume presents the discussions of professionals in the field of peacekeeping, civilian police activities and police reform, both academics and practitionaers, on the issue of internationally assisted police reform in transitions from war to peace. Contributions include theoretical insights and informed case studies from El Salvador and Guatamala, the Balkans, West Bank and Gaza, and Mozambique and South Africa.

How are security problems being addressed in the Americas? What lessons can be learned from these experiences? This book from the University of Pittsburgh Press examines public security and police reform in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico and the United States. Public perception of increased crime and violence has led to public security policies that emphasise punishment and symbolism, such as highly publicised national plans and the importation of unadapted ideas from abroad. Procedural safeguards are needed to monitor human and civil rights in the region as security forces are strengthened.

This paper explores the definition of SSR as it has emerged in the international community. It examines the makeup of the security sector, identifies emergent principles for implementing SSR in the community of practice and specifies the outcomes that SSR is designed to produce. Supporting case studies of Haiti, Liberia, and Kosovo assess the impact of SSR programs on host nation security sectors. The authors conclude that those conducting SSR programs must understand and continually revisit the policy goals of SSR programs, to develop concepts that support a transitional process that moves forward over time. They also identify a need for rebalancing resources committed to SSR, especially since justice and civil law enforcement typically are undersourced as elements of SSR. Lastly, the authors cite the need for more flexible and better integrated funding processes to support SSR activities within the U.S. Government.

This edition of the U. S. Army War College Guide to National Security Policy and Strategy reflects to some extent recent changes in the structure of the core curriculum at the War College. The college broke its traditional core course, “War, National Policy and Strategy,” into two courses: “Theory of War and Strategy” and “National Security Policy and Strategy.” The result for this book is the expansion of the block on strategic theory and the introduction of a block on specific strategic issues. Because little time has past since the publication of the most recent version of this book, this edition is largely an expansion of its predecessor rather than a major rewriting. Several chapters are new and others have undergone significant rewrites or updates, but about two-thirds of the book remains unchanged. Although this is not primarily a textbook, it does reflect both the method and manner we use to teach strategy formulation to America’s future senior leaders. The book is also not a comprehensive or exhaustive treatment of either strategy or the policymaking process. The Guide is organized in broad groups of chapters addressing general subject areas. We begin with a look at some specific issues about the general security environment—largely international. The section on strategic thought and formulation includes chapters on broad issues of strategy formulation as well as some basic strategic theory. The third section is about the elements of national power. A section on the national security policymaking process in the United States precedes the final section that deals with selected strategic issues.

Establishing an effective local police force is one of the most critical elements of successful counterinsurgency and stability operations, but is a task for which the U.S. government is poorly prepared and lacks capacity. This monograph retraces the recent history of U.S. foreign police training, from the well-coordinated effort by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from 1961 to 1974, the U.S. congressional prohibition of the use of foreign assistance funds for police training which ended the USAID police training role in 1974, and the subsequent evolution of a patchwork approach to U.S. foreign police training involving up to 30 departments and agencies, a variety of private police contractors, and multiple fund appropriations. Despite this bureaucratic complexity, the key principles for developing effective local police in stability operations remain the same. There must be a distinction between stability policing and community based policing, with a transition from the former to the latter at the appropriate phase of stability operations. Normative standards are critical for effective community based policing, and must be established by shaping police organizational subculture in the context of local societal culture. This monograph explores the way ahead to achieve these goals for effective local police in stability operations in the current complex and challenging operational environment.