Synopses & Reviews
This new book produced by the RAND Corporation is a remarkable success. You have to read 'The Beginner's Guide to Nation Building', by James Dobbins et al , carefully although the text is clearly written and far from excessively technical. The reason is that many nation building missions we deem damn near impossible, in most countries, [see Part II of Security First], RAND considers possible. But Dobbins points out such nation building exercises are difficult to achieve, can be achieved only after hostilities have ceased, are much more costly than you would expect, and take much longer than expected as well.
The Communitarian Network
The United States and the United Nations have, with increasing frequency, embarked on military interventions and nation-building operations that have become larger, longer, and more ambitious. Dobbins and his associates at RAND have led the way in reflecting on these experiences in an effort to find lessons for the future. In this volume, they offer insights drawn from the review of 24 nation-building missions. Some of their findings take the shape of a list of guidelines for planning and deploying personnel and resources--not least the realistic matching of goals to assets....
Foreign Affairs, May/June 2007
Synopsis
Defining "nation-building" as the use of armed forces after a conflict to promote democracy, a practice outlined in two earlier volumes including The UN's Role in Nation-Building, a critical assessment of America's failure to nation-build in Iraq makes recommendations for economic stabilization, relief efforts, civil administration, and more. Original.
Synopsis
As the US, the UN, and the international community ponder peacekeeping or nation-building efforts in Lebanon and the Sudan, and as operations continue in Iraq and Afghanistan, this book is designed to guide and inform future efforts. The authors present lessons-learned from previous missions in order to help practitioners avoid repeating earlier mistakes, help political leaders evaluate the cost and likely success of proposed operations, and help citizens evaluate their government's consequent performance.
Synopsis
This guidebook is designed as a contribution to future nation-building efforts. It is organized around the components that make up any nation-building mission: planning, military and police contingents, civil administrators, humanitarian and relief efforts, governance, economic stabilization, democratization, and infrastructure development. This gu
Synopsis
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States, NATO, the United Nations, and a range of other states and nongovernmental organizations have become increasingly involved in nation-building operations. This volume presents a comprehensive history of best practices in nation-building and serves as an indispensable reference for planning future interventions.