Reconstruction Under Fire: Case Studies and Further Analysis of Civil Requirements
Abstract
This monograph is a companion volume to "Reconstruction Under Fire: Unifying Civil and Military Counterinsurgency," a RAND monograph published in 2009 that focused on methods for improving the security dimensions of undertaking the civil aspects of counterinsurgency (COIN). The details of how to do the civil COIN tasks discussed in that volume are presented here. Successful counterinsurgency operations require the integration of security and civil COIN to create conditions in which the population can choose between the government and the insurgent, to eliminate the key grievances that gave rise to the insurgency in the first place, and to present the population with choices that are more attractive than what the insurgents can offer. The analytic framework for identifying options for civil COIN measures is a two-stage process. The first stage is to assess the operating environment, which includes analysis of the area's background, context, and threat. The second stage is to identify key effects that must be achieved to eliminate grievances among the population or to deny insurgents opportunities to succeed, as well as the programs needed do this. These are called "focus areas." After assessing the needs in the focus area, specific civil COIN measures can be developed. The RAND team selected the province as the unit of analysis. For the purposes of demonstrating the application of the analytic framework, they selected three illustrative focus areas of particular importance for each case study. The case studies involve Nangarhar province, Afghanistan (road construction and alternatives to poppy cultivation); Nord-Kivu province, Democratic Republic of Congo (land arbitration, primary education, and road construction); and Al Anbar province, Iraq (access to justice, support of underutilized factories and plants, and the provision of electricity and the associated critical infrastructure required to operate large industrial factories and plants).
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA522764
Entities
People
- Brooke S. Lawson
- Jessica Watkins
- Kimberly Colloton
- Michelle Parker
- Terrence K. Kelly
Organizations
- RAND Corporation