Contemporary Operations: Reflections on and of Empire
Abstract
Major General Jonathan Bailey, recently retired, shares his perspectives on the British experience in Irregular Warfare and stability operations. This paper presents three case histories: India and the British Raj from 1858 to 1947; Sierra Leone from its independence in 1961 to its collapse into lawlessness in 2000; and Kosovo, where British forces as part of NATO intervened to halt the abuse of Kosovo's Albanian minority. He draws on these case histories to develop themes and challenges for those engaged in such operations today, and asks whether nation-building is merely "an irritating collateral operation" or the primary method by which the United States will wage the Long War. Although radically different, each offers lessons for contemporary nation-building. In the case of British India, an entire subcontinent was ruled by a British civil service that brought with them a full set of Western preconceptions, but they also brought a unique sense of commitment and cultural sensitivity. Through their labors, the nettlesome subcontinent they ruled for more than two centuries became the world's largest democracy and a contemporary power in its own right. British experience in Sierra Leone was less successful: its tenure was shorter, the institutions it built were more fragile, and its influence less enduring. After independence, Sierra Leone's infrastructure, education system, civil trust in government, and economy eroded and finally collapsed amid deepening corruption and eventual civil war. Here, Western influence failed to take hold. Multi-national attempts at peace-keeping and nation-building have encountered similar problems. NATO's intervention in Kosovo, motivated by a righteous desire to block ethnic cleansing, ushered in new problems caused by those the intervention sought to protect. Deeply rooted corruption, ethnic and religious hostility, and economic disarray make NATO's military presence little more than a temporary mask for Kosovo's problems.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2006
- Accession Number
- ADA469016
Entities
People
- Jonathan B. Bailey
Organizations
- Institute for Defense Analyses