The Failed State - Implications for Military Operations

Abstract

Abstract : Since the end of the Cold War in 1989, the United States has embarked upon many military operations that were not bound by the traditional framework of revolution or insurgency. States formerly held together by the political logic and financial support of bipolar international relations were under increasing assault from within their borders. This complicated environment has required the U.S. Army to conceptualize the strategic environment in a comprehensive way to inform doctrine and provide commanders direction in applying military forces in post-Cold War crisis. This monograph defines the model of intra-state conflict as described by historian and social scientist Crane Brinton. His book, The Anatomy of Revolution, provides a useful framework to understand the nature of intra-state conflict. Brinton analyzed the English, American, French, and Russian revolutions with his conceptual scheme to identify common traits among these four examples that would offer the reader a deeper understanding of the process of revolution. After describing Brinton's work, this monograph introduces the concept of the failed state, which affords Brinton's model fundamental differences in the initial stages of intra-state conflict. The failed state concept may reflect a revolution that has been too successful, thus destroying vital elements of the state system that makes the country vulnerable to future internal threats. This outcome spawns new actors that impact on the viability of the state, the well-being of the people, and on the strategy and tactics of an intervening military force.