Does International Security Assistance Make an Impact? Evaluating the Strategic Effectiveness of Military Aid

Does International Security Assistance Make an Impact? Evaluating the Strategic Effectiveness of Military Aid

Author: Jonathan David Bate

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The United States is the leading donor of international security assistance worldwide, providing over $15 billion annually in various forms of grant assistance to over 150 recipient states, in addition to myriad direct military-to-military training engagements. However, very little security assistance is quantitatively evaluated, which creates a large gap in the academic and policy literatures. This dissertation contributes to filling the gap by proposing theoretical frameworks and leveraging empirical methods to measure the strategic outcomes of security assistance programs at the national and subnational levels. I evaluate two types of programs: security force assistance to local defense forces (LDFs) and conventional military grant assistance. I find that the establishment of LDFs through the Afghan Local Police (ALP) program was associated with decreased insurgent attacks and increased state control in strategically important Afghan districts during 2010-2016. However, it was also correlated with an increase in both IED attacks in treated districts and overall attacks in neighboring districts lacking LDFs. Additionally, the troop drawdown corresponding with the 2014 ISAF dissolution reduced external oversight and local expectations of central government survival to a degree which appears to have erased the gains associated with LDFs and possibly facilitated insurgent control. Lastly, I investigate the relationship between U.S. military grant assistance and recipient state "military effort, " proxied by national military expenditures. I find that the Foreign Military Financing (FMF), Excess Defense Articles (EDA), and International Military Education & Training (IMET) programs are associated with increased military spending. However, the positive EDA correlation holds only for non-allies, suggesting a substitution effect due to more robust allied security commitments.


Strategic US Foreign Assistance

Strategic US Foreign Assistance

Author: Rhonda L. Callaway

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-04-01

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1317049411

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

One major dilemma regarding US foreign policy is when and how the US should address human rights around the globe and what responsibility exists for the US to promote human rights in the countries that receive US aid. Does US policy for foreign assistance really address human rights or is it merely another instrument in the US foreign policy toolbox? This insightful book addresses several key themes and questions revolving around the complex nature of US foreign policy and human rights. It examines US foreign policy and human rights, as well as the evolution of US assistance, and includes empirical evidence and case studies of Plan Colombia, Turkey and the war on terror, India and Pakistan. It closes with a look at the future of foreign aid.


International Security

International Security

Author: Joseph A. Christoff

Publisher: DIANE Publishing

Published: 2010-10

Total Pages: 73

ISBN-13: 1437932444

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In 2006, the U.S. created two new programs, authorized in Sections 1206 and 1207 of the FY 2006 Nat. Defense Author. Act, to respond to the threats of global terrorism and instability. These programs have provided over $1.3 billion in military and non-military aid to 62 countries and are due to expire in 2011 and 2010, respectively. This report addresses the extent to which the programs: (1) are consistent with U.S. strategic priorities; (2) are distinct from other programs; (3) address sustainment needs; and (4) incorporate monitoring and evaluation. The report analyzed data and program documents from the DoD and State Dept., and the USAID, and interviewed U.S. and host country officials. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables.


U.S. Army Security Cooperation

U.S. Army Security Cooperation

Author: Thomas S. Szayna

Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 9780833035769

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the realm of security cooperation--peacetime activities undertaken by the U.S. armed services with other armed forces and countries--the U.S. Army's current planning process is exceedingly complex and difficult to coordinate, control, and measure. This monograph seeks to help the U.S. Army improve its ability to assess future demand for resources devoted to security cooperation and to evaluate the impact of these demands upon the resources available to the Army.


Integrating 21st Century Development and Security Assistance

Integrating 21st Century Development and Security Assistance

Author: J. Stephen Morrison

Publisher: CSIS

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 64

ISBN-13: 9780892065240

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Over the past few years, the Pentagon's role as a direct provider of foreign assistance has surged. The Department of Defense (DOD) has assumed an expanding role in counterterrorism, capacity building, post-conflict operations, and humanitarian assistance--beyond implementing traditional military-to-military programs supported by State Department funds. The CSIS Task Force on Nontraditional Security Assistance was constituted to identify the main drivers behind these trends; to assess Pentagon performance in several nontraditional areas; to examine what is happening in the diplomatic and development spheres; to evaluate the implications of DOD's enlarged role for U.S. national security, foreign policy, and development objectives; and to offer concrete recommendations to foster a balanced and sustainable division of responsibilities between the Pentagon and U.S. civilian agencies. The task force also examined the newly launched U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) as a case study for the coordination of military activities with those of the diplomatic and development communities.


Measuring the Immeasurable

Measuring the Immeasurable

Author: U. S. Military

Publisher:

Published: 2018-05-12

Total Pages: 89

ISBN-13: 9781981078066

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

One of the fundamental struggles of U.S. conflicts in the post-World War II era continues to be how to utilize the military instrument of national power as a way to influence people and populations in order to achieve national objectives. In the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dempsey specifies that conducting humanitarian assistance is one of the twelve different ways in which the U.S. military achieves national security objectives. Given this support, there is ever increasing reliance on Humanitarian and Civic Assistance (HCA), specifically engineering civic assistance projects (ENCAPs), as a way to shape the operational environment. Given this increased utilization, assessing their effectiveness towards achieving national security objectives becomes paramount. However, an adequate method of assessment does not exist. The development of such a system will increase the value and effectiveness of ENCAPs given their expanded utilization in a fiscally austere environment that threatens to reduce or eliminate their funding. CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION * Background of the Study * Research Questions * Significance of the Study * Definitions * Methodology * Limitations and Delimitations * Summary * CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW * Introduction * What are the objectives of ENCAPs? * What Objectives Have ENCAPs Been Used to Achieve in the Past? * What National Security Objectives Link to ENCAPs? * What Are the Legal and Policy Requirements of ENCAPs? * How Does the Military Assess ENCAPs? * How Does the DoD Currently Assess ENCAPs? * How Has the DoD Assessed ENCAPs in the Past? * What other methods exist for assessing ENCAPs? * Prototype Handbook for Monitoring and Evaluating DoD Humanitarian Assistance Projects * Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning: World Vision's Approach to Design, Monitoring and Evaluation * Evaluation of Humanitarian Action: Pilot Guide * Summary * CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY * Introduction * Grounded Theory Methodology * Data Analysis * Data Collection * Role of the Researcher * Limitations and Delimitations * Summary * CHAPTER 4 ANALYSIS * Introduction * Objectives of ENCAPs * Historical Objectives of ENCAPs * ENCAP Objectives as Related to National Security * ENCAP Objectives Required by U.S. Law and DoD Policy * Military Assessment of ENCAPs * Current DoD Assessment Formats * Historical DoD Assessment Formats * Other Existing Methods for Assessing ENCAPs * Prototype Handbook for Monitoring and Evaluating DoD Humanitarian Assistance Projects. * Learning through Evaluation with Accountability and Planning: World Vision's Approach to Design, Monitoring and Evaluation. * Evaluation of Humanitarian Action: Pilot Guide * Core Phenomenon: Lack of Long Term Assessment of ENCAPs * Do ENCAPs Achieve National Security Objectives? * Summary * CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS * Conclusions * Strategies * Consequences * Recommendations * Proposed Model for Assessing ENCAPs * Recommended Changes to Policy * Areas Warranting Further Research * Closing


How Does United States Security Assistance Affect Host Nation Democratization? Analysis of State and Defense Department Help to Lebanon and Pakistan E

How Does United States Security Assistance Affect Host Nation Democratization? Analysis of State and Defense Department Help to Lebanon and Pakistan E

Author: U. S. Military

Publisher: Independently Published

Published: 2018-09-19

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9781723821691

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

How does U.S. security assistance affect host nation democratization? This thesis analyzes Department of State and Department of Defense assistance over time to Lebanon and Pakistan to evaluate its effects on the host nation's political rights and civil liberties, measured by Freedom House ratings. In both cases, changes in Freedom House ratings did not correlate consistently with changes in U.S. security assistance. The influence of U.S. security assistance on host nation governance is frequently over-stated. U.S. security assistance has minimal effect on democratization compared to local and regional actors, because it is designed and resourced primarily to accomplish security objectives, not to drive enduring institutional reform. If the United States wanted security assistance to decisively support democratization, then it would need to design and resource security assistance and security cooperation programs differently. Redesigning U.S. security assistance to supersede the influence of other factors on democratization would require increasing funding toward defense institution building, making security assistance conditional on political rights and civil liberties performance, and consistently integrating security assistance within a whole-of-government strategy toward the host nation for a generation or more. Since spreading democracy was a frequently stated characteristic of U.S. foreign policy since the end of the Cold War, it is expected that SA efforts support policy objectives to the maximum extent possible. Funding allocated by U.S. Congress is what enables the executive branch to conduct SA in accordance with applicable laws. If SA supports democratization, then the United States should fund SA liberally if it wants to promote democracy


Building Security in Africa

Building Security in Africa

Author: Stephen Watts

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781977400499

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The United States has sought to combat security threats in Africa principally by supporting partner governments, and security sector assistance (SSA) has been one of the primary tools it has used. Rigorous evaluations of the overall impact of SSA, however, have been extremely rare. A RAND Corporation study used statistical models to evaluate the impact that U.S.-provided SSA has had on political violence in Africa-in particular, the incidence of civil wars and insurgencies, terrorist attacks, and state repression. The authors found that SSA has had a mixed record. During the Cold War, SSA likely exacerbated instability, leading to a higher incidence of civil wars. During the post-Cold War era, it seems to have had little net effect, likely reflecting recipient-government failures to sustain the capabilities developed through SSA and to harness these capability gains to effective political-military strategies. When SSA has been implemented in conjunction with peacekeeping operations, however, it has had a consistently positive impact across a range of outcomes, including the likelihood of civil war recurrence, the incidence of terrorist attacks, and the extent of state repression. These findings have important implications for future U.S. policies in Africa and potentially beyond.


Assessing, Monitoring, and Evaluating Army Security Cooperation

Assessing, Monitoring, and Evaluating Army Security Cooperation

Author: Angela O'Mahony

Publisher:

Published: 2018

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780833099419

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

To help the Army increase the effectiveness of its security cooperation activities, this report examines when Army security cooperation can have the greatest impact, and how the Army should assess, monitor, and evaluate security cooperation.


Security Assistance

Security Assistance

Author: Charles Michael Johnson, Jr.

Publisher:

Published: 2013-04-28

Total Pages: 47

ISBN-13: 9781457845208

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Following Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon in 2005 and war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006, U.S. agencies increased their allocations of security assistance for Lebanon from $3 million in 2005 to about $28 million in 2006. This included training and equipment funded and implemented by the Depts. of State or Defense (DOD) for the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces of Lebanon. However, questions remain regarding the effectiveness of security assistance as a tool of U.S. policy in Lebanon, including concerns about the influence of foreign actors, primarily Syria and Iran, and extremist militant groups operating in Lebanon. This report reviewed U.S. security assistance to Lebanon. Covering FY 2007 through 2012, it assessed the extent to which the U.S. government (1) adjusted its strategic goals and security assistance programs in Lebanon; (2) funded assistance programs for Lebanese security forces; and (3) evaluated the effectiveness of security assistance programs in Lebanon. Figures and tbles. This is a print on demand report.