Avoiding Praetorian Societies: Focusing U.S. Strategy on Political Development

It is clear that fragile nation-states will continue to be a major contributor to instability in the international strategic environment. The United States, its allies and partners have attempted to mitigate the negative effects of fragile states through a variety of approaches, including military stability and reconstruction (S&R) operations such as those undertaken in Iraq and Afghanistan. America’s success rate at conducting S&R operations however, is mixed.

Fostering a Police Reform Paradigm

This study seeks to develop a police reform paradigm to guide international assistance policies and programs for new democracies. The approach of this monograph is atypical of most studies on this genre in that it discusses the philosophical, doctrinal, and practical underpinnings of police reform: !) The Relationship between the Nation-State and its Police Forces; 2) Reforming a Nation’s Police, and 3) Practical and Historical Application of Police Reforms.

A Reference Guide for Interpreting Statistics and Creating Survey Questions

The genesis of this guide started at a meeting between PKSOI and the Department of Distance Education (DDE) at the Army War College (AWC). During this meeting a discussion occurred in which we all realized that neither the resident nor distance courses of study require a statistics or research methods course. However, as part of the directed study we were discussing, we were finding that some students were quite interested in using statistics and survey questions.

Smart Research, Leveraging Interns and Fellows to Enhance your Research Program

This paper is divided into two parts. The first part deals with the general issues surrounding an internship program. It answers such questions as: What is an intern or fellow? Where do you find them? What do they do? What are the legal considerations? What are the security issues? The second part is what we call a “How To” section. It is the nuts and bolts of starting an internship program. It is also the boring part, though efforts have been made so it doesn’t read like U.S. tax code.

Hearts-and-Minds: A Strategy of Conciliation, Coercion, or Commitment?

This monograph presents an investigation of the concept’s colonial antecedents, inception at the onset of the Cold War, subsequent U.S. interpretation during Vietnam, and modern application to post 9/11 conflict in order to elucidate its true nature – one which can only properly be understood as commitment. By understanding this evolution over time, an enhanced appreciation of its applicability to future conflict as well as its place within the irregular warfare canon may be more properly apprehended.