After the War: Nation-Building from FDR to George W. Bush

by Dobbins, James

• ISBN13: 9780833041814
• ISBN10: 0833041819
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-08-27
• Publisher: RAND Corporation

Summary

"In recent decades, the United States' overwhelming military superiority has allowed it to "overawe" or overrun adversaries with comparative ease. However, consolidating victory and preventing a renewal of conflict has usually taken more time, energy, and resources than originally foreseen. Few recent efforts of this sort can be regarded as unqualified successes, and one or two must be accounted as clear failures. Prior RAND research examined the factors that contribute to this success or failure, including the natures of the society being reformed and of the conflict being terminated, as well as the quality and quantity of the military and civil assets of external actors. This volume addresses the manner in which presidential style, interagency structures, and decisionmaking processes have affected the eventual outcomes. The study found that some administrations have proved better at this than others, that all improved over time, and that this enhanced capability often failed to carry over to their successors."--BOOK JACKET.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. v
Figure	p. ix
Summary	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xxxi
Abbreviations	p. xxxiii
Introduction	p. 1
Presidential Style, Institutional Structure, and Bureaucratic Process	p. 3
Post-World War II Nation-Building: Germany and Japan	p. 11
The Presidents and Their Administrations	p. 12
Planning for the Postwar Period	p. 15
The Allies	p. 24
Implementation	p. 27
Transition	p. 32
Conclusion	p. 33
Post-Cold War Nation-Building: Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo	p. 37
The Presidents and Their Administrations	p. 38
Somalia	p. 43
Interagency Planning and the Decision to Intervene	p. 44
Implementation	p. 45
Transition	p. 46
Presidential Decision Directive 25	p. 50
Haiti	p. 52
Interagency Planning and the Decision to Intervene	p. 53
Implementation	p. 57
Transition	p. 61
Bosnia	p. 63
Interagency Planning and the Decision to Intervene	p. 64
Implementation	p. 70
Transition	p. 71
Presidential Decision Directive 56	p. 71
Kosovo	p. 73
Interagency Planning and the Decision to Intervene	p. 74
Implementation	p. 80
Conclusion	p. 83
Post-9/11 Nation-Building: Afghanistan and Iraq	p. 85
The President and His Administration	p. 86
Afghanistan	p. 90
Planning for the Postwar Period	p. 90
Allies	p. 93
Implementation	p. 96
Transition	p. 102
Iraq	p. 104
Planning for the Postwar Period	p. 104
Allies	p. 116
Implementation	p. 117
Transition	p. 124
Conclusion	p. 127
Toward Better Decisions and More Competent Execution	p. 135
Bibliography	p. 143
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