The Beginner's Guide to Nation-Building

by James Dobbins, Seth G. Jones, Keith Crane

This guidebook is designed as a contribution to future nation-building efforts. It is organized around the components that make up any nation-building planning, military and police contingents, civil administrators, humanitarian and relief efforts, governance, economic stabilization, democratization, and infrastructure development. This guide is intended to help practitioners avoid repeating earlier mistakes, help political leaders evaluate the cost and likelihood of success in any proposed operation, and help citizens evaluate their government's consequent performance.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, International Relations

318 pages, Paperback

First published February 14, 2003

Reviews

[timnc15 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dobbins’ “The Beginner’s Guide to Nation-Building” is exactly what the title suggests it is: a brief yet holistic review of the immediate and medium-term actions that must be taken in order for a nation-building initiative to be successful. While emphasizing that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all approach to nation-building and that planning is simultaneously essential and incomplete, it provides a helpful set of priorities for policymakers to follow to stabilize a country’s situation before erecting the institutions needed for it to reconstitute itself. This also includes considerations of international assistance, the merits of unilateral American intervention and reconstruction, and the necessity of deploying resources in the immediate “golden hour” of a conflict’s resolution when the situation is most volatile and the threat of spoiler parties has not materialized. Beyond these broader considerations of American nation-building efforts, the document discusses the competing and complementary priorities that exist in the realm of nation-building and stabilization, namely security, humanitarian relief, governance, economic stabilization, democratization, and development. This also addresses the institutions that support these priorities, such as the military, police, judiciary, local government, and monetary authorities. Dobbins extensively uses historical evidence from past interventions to provide empirical evidence, ratios, and estimated costs for each proposed intervention, providing the document’s policymaker audience with a rough estimation of the quantity, quality, and cost of resources needed to facilitate a successful intervention. Ultimately, this document is a perfect introduction to nation-building, the countless domains and competing priorities that exist within that policy space, and the extensive resource commitments needed to make one successful.