From Chaos to Cohesion PDF
Preview From Chaos to Cohesion
Visit our website for other free publication downloads http://www.StrategicStudiesInstitute.army.mil/ To rate this publication click here. The Letort Papers In the early 18th century, James Letort, an explorer and fur trader, was instrumental in opening up the Cumberland Valley to settlement. By 1752, there was a garrison on Letort Creek at what is today Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. In those days, Carlisle Barracks lay at the western edge of the American colonies. It was a bastion for the protection of settlers and a departure point for further exploration. Today, as was the case over 2 centuries ago, Carlisle Barracks, as the home of the U.S. Army War College, is a place of transition and transformation. In the same spirit of bold curiosity that compelled the men and women who, like Letort, settled the American west, the Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) and U.S. Army War College (USAWC) Press presents The Letort Papers. This series allows SSI and USAWC Press to publish papers, retrospectives, speeches, or essays of interest to the defense academic community which may not correspond with our mainstream policy- oriented publications. If you think you may have a subject amenable to publication in our Letort Paper series, or if you wish to comment on a particular paper, please contact Dr. Steven K. Metz, Director of Research, Strategic Studies Institute and USAWC Press, U.S. Army War College, 47 Ashburn Drive, Carlisle, PA 17013-5010. His phone number is (717) 245-3822; e-mail address is [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you. Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press FROM CHAOS TO COHESION: A REGIONAL APPROACH TO SECURITY, STABILITY, AND DEVELOPMENT IN SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA Diane E. Chido April 2013 The views expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government. Authors of Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) and U.S. Army War College (USAWC) Press publications enjoy full academic freedom, provided they do not disclose classified information, jeopardize operations security, or misrepresent offi- cial U.S. policy. Such academic freedom empowers them to offer new and sometimes controversial perspectives in the interest of furthering debate on key issues. This report is cleared for public release; distribution is unlimited. ***** This publication is subject to Title 17, United States Code, Sections 101 and 105. It is in the public domain and may not be copyrighted. ***** Comments pertaining to this report are invited and should be forwarded to: Director, Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press, U.S. Army War College, 47 Ashburn Drive, Carlisle, PA 17013. ***** This manuscript was funded by the U.S. Army War College External Research Associates Program. Information on this pro- gram is available on our website, www.StrategicStudiesInstitute. army.mil, at the Opportunities tab. ***** All Strategic Studies Institute (SSI) and U.S. Army War College (USAWC) Press publications may be downloaded free of charge from the SSI website. Hard copies of this report may also be obtained free of charge while supplies last by placing an order on the SSI website. SSI publications may be quoted or reprinted in part or in full with permission and appropriate credit given to the U.S. Army Strategic Studies Institute and USAWC Press, U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, PA. Contact SSI by visiting our website at the following address: www.StrategicStudiesInstitute.army.mil. ***** The Strategic Studies Institute and USAWC Press publishes a monthly e-mail newsletter to update the national security community on the research of our analysts, recent and forthcoming publications, and upcoming conferences sponsored by the Institute. Each newsletter also provides a strategic com- mentary by one of our research analysts. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter, please subscribe on the SSI website at www.StrategicStudiesInstitute.army.mil/newsletter/. ISBN 1-58487-563-1 ii FOREWORD In December 2012, General Carter Ham, com- mander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), told students at Brown University that recent successes in reducing the influence of al-Shabaab and presidential elections in Somalia: happened because the nations of East Africa collec- tively, and under the auspices of the African Union, decided that they would take action. . . . It was the regional states making that decision, crafting a plan and then coming, frankly, to the international commu- nity and ask[ing] for some support, which the United States and many others were able to provide. But it was an African-led and-designed effort. U.S. policy has long voiced support for the con- cept of “African solutions for African problems” but has implemented plans that proved policymakers be- lieved they knew better how to “fix” Africa. Now the United States is beginning to support African solutions by increasing partnerships with African Regional Eco- nomic Communities (RECs) for coordinated security, stability, and development efforts across sub-regions. In this monograph, Diane Chido explores the evo- lution of the Organization for African Unity (OAU) into the present-day African Union (AU) and consid- ers optimal directions for this organization to achieve both African and U.S. objectives for the continent in the context of past, current, and future AFRICOM engagement. Ms. Chido accedes that AFRICOM has begun to engage with the RECs for more effective and cost-efficient regional security and stability ef- forts, but recommends that this joint command place greater coordinated emphasis on this approach as a iii series of smaller-scale “pilots” in order to form a long- term pan-continental strategy for U.S. engagement in Africa. Positive engagement in this often misunderstood region requires a clear understanding of local deci- sionmaking environments and the stresses and influ- ences under which such leaders or leaders-to-be may be operating. The U.S. Army War College can provide strategic research opportunities to identify up-and- coming individuals and groups in countries and coun- terpart organizations, such as RECs, especially suited as partners for enhancing security and stability in the region. In this continuing age of austerity, discussions in the defense arena focus on cost-effective solutions to large problems. Regional and ultimately, continental, approaches to Africa’s myriad security challenges that directly affect U.S. national interests will increasingly have a greater impact than single-country, piecemeal military-to-military efforts. For this reason, the Strate- gic Studies Institute offers this monograph as a con- tribution to the debate on the future of U.S. Army en- gagement in Africa and how it can best enhance U.S. competitiveness abroad and security at home. DOUGLAS C. LOVELACE, JR. Director Strategic Studies Institute and U.S. Army War College Press iv ABOUT THE AUTHOR DIANE E. CHIDO is the President of DC Analytics, a research and analysis firm formed in October 2008. She has served as a cultural awareness subject mat- ter expert on the Horn of Africa, assisting in creating training materials for the U.S. Army and course cur- ricula in cultural intelligence analysis for academic and intelligence community agencies. She has also performed extensive research on Sub-Saharan Afri- can civil-military relations, socio-cultural cleavages, and regional security threats and opportunities. In December 2008, she completed the U.S. Army Culture Center’s train-the-trainer course on Cultural Aware- ness in the Horn of Africa. Ms. Chido is an adjunct professor of intelligence studies with the Institute for Intelligence Studies (IIS) at Mercyhurst University as well as a graduate of that program. She teaches Intelligence Communication, Advanced Intelligence Analysis, and Advanced Analytic Techniques, in the classroom and online, to graduate students who are practicing analysts in the Intelligence Community. She also serves as a faculty advisor for student re- searchers on numerous Department of Defense (DoD) contracts with the Center for Intelligence Research, Analysis, and Training (CIRAT). Ms. Chido has 20 years of experience in research including with the In- ternational Monetary Fund and with the Brookings Institution Foreign Policy Program. She publishes widely on intelligence analysis, ethnic conflict, and international security topics. Ms. Chido holds an M.S. in Applied Intelligence Analysis, an M.A. in Russian Language, and a Graduate Certificate in Russian/East European Studies. v SUMMARY Conflicts and extremism are almost certain to con- tinue to rise in Africa, especially with instability re- sulting from the cascade of unrest across North Africa and the Middle East, the burgeoning youth bulge in Sub-Saharan Africa, African mercenaries, rising Is- lamic extremism, myriad wild, ungoverned spaces, and increasing resource shortages resulting from human activities and climate change across the Con- tinent. In order to protect our troops while ensuring stability in the region, we must develop the capacity of a Pan-African force to deal effectively with these and other likely problems as they arise. Prevention is the key to effective policies in Africa, whether the issue is equitable resource exploitation, ethnic conflict, infectious diseases, or famine. Begin- ning now to develop well-trained, disciplined, and well-equipped military and police forces that can ensure stability in place of our own troops in future conflicts and emergencies is a long-range stabilizing method certain to pay for itself in the long-term. This monograph provides a path toward developing a vi- able African Union capable of serving as a suprana- tional governing body to drive stability, security, and economic development by strengthening the capabil- ity of Regional Economic Communities (RECs) as the first step in a longer-term integration process. Carefully implementing such a pan-continental strategy is highly likely to have the net effect over the next 20 years of attaining a considerable competitive advantage for the U.S. economically, militarily, and politically, with a corresponding increase in stability, security, and economic opportunity in that region. vii
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