21st Century Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) Papers - The State-Owned Enterprise as a Vehicle for Stability - Liberia, Kosovo, Iraq, Mozambique, Afghanistan

Nonfiction, History, Military, United States
Cover of the book 21st Century Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) Papers - The State-Owned Enterprise as a Vehicle for Stability - Liberia, Kosovo, Iraq, Mozambique, Afghanistan by Progressive Management, Progressive Management
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Progressive Management ISBN: 9781310395376
Publisher: Progressive Management Publication: November 27, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition Language: English
Author: Progressive Management
ISBN: 9781310395376
Publisher: Progressive Management
Publication: November 27, 2013
Imprint: Smashwords Edition
Language: English

This report has made a case that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) affect stability in conflict-prone environments, and decisive control of them creates positive or negative conditions. It describes the importance of SOEs and their treatment in five post-conflict environments. Dr. Efird acknowledges that in areas of the world in which security forces stepped in and took control, their actions helped stabilize the government. In contrast, when security forces failed to act decisively, the fragile government remained or was further destabilized.

Topics covered include: Liberia, Kosovo, Iraq, Mozambique, Afghanistan.

But as often happens in complex environments, it is a challenge to know how and when to use SOEs, and Dr. Efird rightly points out that a good set of metrics is necessary to measure their effectiveness. He provides an overview of the analytical tool known as "Measuring Progress in Conflict Environments" (MPICE) that is used to determine progress in stability operations. He proposes that associated with this tool are objectives that directly relate to production, or the output of economic resources. Other objectives relate to policy frameworks that directly affect production. Thus using MPICE to measure progress is essential to successful stability operations.

Dr. Efird's experiences as a Foreign Service Officer and U.S. Army officer in conflict-prone societies as well as his service as an economic development advisor to the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) have enabled him to apply economic theory in a practical way in areas of instability. Those of us working in the stability operations arena are fortunate enough to be the beneficiaries.

As providers of essential public or commercial services, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are important in modern economies. Since SOEs are ubiquitous in the global economy, they are likely to be present in conflict-prone societies. In such environments, the defining political and economic systems within which the SOEs exist are likely to embody the interests both of participants in the conflict and of those hoping for an end to the conflict. In stability operations, the imperative for SOEs is to become productive in a way that helps create stability.

Achieving this result is apt to be difficult. SOEs are often tainted with the very elements that created the original conflict. They can be microcosms of the societal and economic problems that led to conflict, and the struggle for control over them among actual or former combatants can serve to sustain the original conflict. To avoid that outcome, campaign and development plans must address SOE issues decisively, comprehensively, and pragmatically.
Although revitalizing SOEs can be complex and ambiguous, the task can be a useful, intermediate objective on the road to the end state of a sustainable economy. One multinational force commander with experience in Kosovo and Afghanistan described those particular conflict environments as "mosaic wars" offering many perspectives, which therefore made them difficult to visualize.1 In similar contexts, SOEs offer focal points for visualizing the intended end state of the operational environment, precisely because they often are a microcosm of a country's pre-conflict power structure. Consequently, if handled correctly, SOEs can be stepping stones toward stability.

Recent experience in stability operations demonstrates the value of gaining early control of and effectively restructuring SOEs. In one Liberian example, United Nations (UN) security forces took steps to enable the state-owned electric power company and state-managed rubber plantations to serve as the basis for political stability. This action yielded three immediate benefits that enhanced stabilization: (1) economic production, (2) employment, and (3) symbolization of governmental control.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This report has made a case that state-owned enterprises (SOEs) affect stability in conflict-prone environments, and decisive control of them creates positive or negative conditions. It describes the importance of SOEs and their treatment in five post-conflict environments. Dr. Efird acknowledges that in areas of the world in which security forces stepped in and took control, their actions helped stabilize the government. In contrast, when security forces failed to act decisively, the fragile government remained or was further destabilized.

Topics covered include: Liberia, Kosovo, Iraq, Mozambique, Afghanistan.

But as often happens in complex environments, it is a challenge to know how and when to use SOEs, and Dr. Efird rightly points out that a good set of metrics is necessary to measure their effectiveness. He provides an overview of the analytical tool known as "Measuring Progress in Conflict Environments" (MPICE) that is used to determine progress in stability operations. He proposes that associated with this tool are objectives that directly relate to production, or the output of economic resources. Other objectives relate to policy frameworks that directly affect production. Thus using MPICE to measure progress is essential to successful stability operations.

Dr. Efird's experiences as a Foreign Service Officer and U.S. Army officer in conflict-prone societies as well as his service as an economic development advisor to the Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) have enabled him to apply economic theory in a practical way in areas of instability. Those of us working in the stability operations arena are fortunate enough to be the beneficiaries.

As providers of essential public or commercial services, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are important in modern economies. Since SOEs are ubiquitous in the global economy, they are likely to be present in conflict-prone societies. In such environments, the defining political and economic systems within which the SOEs exist are likely to embody the interests both of participants in the conflict and of those hoping for an end to the conflict. In stability operations, the imperative for SOEs is to become productive in a way that helps create stability.

Achieving this result is apt to be difficult. SOEs are often tainted with the very elements that created the original conflict. They can be microcosms of the societal and economic problems that led to conflict, and the struggle for control over them among actual or former combatants can serve to sustain the original conflict. To avoid that outcome, campaign and development plans must address SOE issues decisively, comprehensively, and pragmatically.
Although revitalizing SOEs can be complex and ambiguous, the task can be a useful, intermediate objective on the road to the end state of a sustainable economy. One multinational force commander with experience in Kosovo and Afghanistan described those particular conflict environments as "mosaic wars" offering many perspectives, which therefore made them difficult to visualize.1 In similar contexts, SOEs offer focal points for visualizing the intended end state of the operational environment, precisely because they often are a microcosm of a country's pre-conflict power structure. Consequently, if handled correctly, SOEs can be stepping stones toward stability.

Recent experience in stability operations demonstrates the value of gaining early control of and effectively restructuring SOEs. In one Liberian example, United Nations (UN) security forces took steps to enable the state-owned electric power company and state-managed rubber plantations to serve as the basis for political stability. This action yielded three immediate benefits that enhanced stabilization: (1) economic production, (2) employment, and (3) symbolization of governmental control.

More books from Progressive Management

Cover of the book 21st Century Textbooks of Military Medicine - Military Preventive Medicine: Mobilization and Deployment, Volume 2 - Epidemiology, Infectious Diseases, After Disasters (Emergency War Surgery Series) by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Historic Reclamation Projects: Project Skywater - Rainmaking, Weather Modification, History and Politics, Technology, Testing, and Implementation by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Defense Security Service (DSS) Glossary of Security Terms, Definitions, and Acronyms by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Solar Power and Photovoltaics: Energy Department Solar Energy Technologies Program Annual Report - Fiscal Year 2009 - Details on PV Technologies and Research by Progressive Management
Cover of the book America's Space Shuttle: Main Propulsion System (SSME) NASA Astronaut Training Manual by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board: The First Twenty Years - Hanford, Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, From the Manhattan Project to the Cold War, Rocky Flats, Savannah River, Weapons Disassembly by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The American Civil War (War Between the States): The Confederate Defense of Charleston, South Carolina - Naval Gunnery, Fort Sumter Union Defense, Du Pont's Attack, Amphibious, Submarine, Torpedo War by Progressive Management
Cover of the book The Army Medical Department 1818: 1865, Laying the Foundation, War with Mexico, The American Civil War, Achievements and Failures by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Campaigns in Mississippi and Tennessee: February - December 1864 - The U.S. Army Campaigns of the Civil War - Meridian, General Sherman, Forrest, Washburn, Lee, Fort Pillow Massacre, Johnsonville Raid by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute (PKSOI) Papers - Hearts and Minds: A Strategy of Conciliation, Coercion, or Commitment? Irregular Conflicts, Iraq, Afghanistan, Vietnam by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Thomas Holcomb and the Advent of the Marine Corps Defense Battalion: 1936-1941 - Albert Thayer Mahan, Marine Corps Base Defense Mission, The ORANGE Plan and the Japanese Threat by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century U.S. Military Documents: Air Force EC-130H Compass Call Aircraft - Operations Procedures, Aircrew Evaluation Criteria, Aircrew Training Flying Operations by Progressive Management
Cover of the book U.S. Army in the Cold War: Forging the Shield - The U.S. Army in Europe, 1951-1962, Atomic Warfare Training, Pentomic, New Look, Berlin Crisis, Building New German Army, Elvis Presley Goes to Europe by Progressive Management
Cover of the book Japan in Perspective: Orientation Guide and Japanese Cultural Orientation: Geography, History, Economy, Security, Customs, Meiji Restoration, Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Ethnic Groups, Shinto, Buddhism by Progressive Management
Cover of the book 21st Century Adult Cancer Sourcebook: Adrenocortical Carcinoma, Cancer of the Adrenal Cortex - Clinical Data for Patients, Families, and Physicians by Progressive Management
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy