Toward a Nation-Building Operating Concept

This monograph explores political science theory and contemporary practice to develop a structural framework for nation-building. The generalized framework is predicated on the observation that interagency operations can achieve a degree of self-synchronization by implementing a high-level operating concept. Self-synchronization achieves unity of action and obviates the need for cumbersome interagency coordinating bodies in all but the highest risk activities. In the context of nation-building, an operating concept is defined as "a mid-to long-term directive that outlines objectives, principles, and guidelines for achieving synergy among the operations of U.S. agencies that do not share a common corporate leadership structure or chain of command." There are seven thematic attributes of a nation-building operating concept: persistent effort over time, the requirement for normative decisions during intervention, bottom-up development of representative and accountable institutions, transparency, incremental adaptation, and limited scope of indigenous government powers. These are derived from political science and economic theory, as well as observations of contemporary nation-building operations. These nation-building themes can help to resolve the disequilibrium in institutional power that characterizes most nation-building operations. The principles of an enterprise approach can be successful in nation-building. However, the practitioner is cautioned against one-size-fits-all approaches. Iteration and adjustment are critical throughout the protracted nation-building process. This monograph provides a number of tools to support development of a context-specific operating concept for nation-building: a taxonomy of state strength for assessing structural weaknesses, a set of conflict regulating behaviors that facilitate settlements, a framework for DDR activities, recommendations for balancing compulsory power of the state with the power of voluntary citizen associati