Diplomats in the Foxhole: The Evolution of the State Department During Irregular Conflicts

Abstract

This monograph identifies the process of organizational change demonstrated by the Department of State (DOS) when supporting U.S. efforts in an irregular warfare environment where there is a large Department of Defense (DOD) general purpose force present. To successfully conduct operations abroad, United States Government (USG) interagency cooperation is necessary to achieve unity of effort towards a common aim. Although this seems obvious in theory, case studies analyzing Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq demonstrate that this is tremendously difficult to achieve in practice. This research shows that to adapt to this environment the DOS (1) creates ad hoc organizations, (2) establishes a unified command structure with the DOD and (3) uses local solutions to solve local problems. This monograph is intended to improve the U.S. Army professional understanding of the DOS so interagency cooperation in future political-military operations can be improved.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 22, 2014
Accession Number
ADA612156

Entities

People

  • Nicholas C. Sinclair

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • C4I
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Department Of State
  • Interagency Coordination
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Law
  • International Organizations
  • International Relations
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Students
  • Treaties
  • United States Government
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Government and Public Administration Law.
  • Irregular Warfare and Special Operations Cyberspace Operations against Adversarial Threats.
  • Systems Analysis and Design