Criteria for Post-War Infrastructure Reconstruction Efforts
Abstract
Post-conflict infrastructure reconstruction can consume billions of dollars and require years of commitment if strategic objectives are to be met in a lasting way. The United States has a mixed record of both success and failure in its history of post-conflict infrastructure reconstruction since World War II. Analysis of this fairly-recent history reveals a set of six criteria that can be used by planners and decision makers as they evaluate conditions on the ground to determine feasibility and the chances of success in a particular endeavor. These six criteria are: presence of a functioning government and government capacity, pre-war level of development, level of wartime destruction and type of destruction, local construction capability and capacity, security, and the human dimension. Of these six, a functioning government and security are primary--without these two, reconstruction eventually ends in failure. The remaining four are strong enablers to a successful reconstruction process. These criteria can also be used to articulate-- to the host nation's people and government, to domestic and international audiences--clear expectations for actions required by each target audience to achieve success.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA517910
Entities
People
- John W. Cross
Organizations
- United States Army War College