Guide to Rebuilding Governance in Stability Operations: A Role for The Military?

In October 2008, the U.S. Army issued Field Manual 3.07, Stability Operations Doctrine, which identified five key sectors as components of an integrated approach to stabilization and reconstruction (S&R) operations-security, justice and reconciliation, humanitarian assistance and social well-being, participatory governance, and economic stabilization and infrastructure. Government, or governance, has a central role in assuring the successful end-states for transition in each of these sectors. This guide focuses on the military's role in rebuilding and establishing a functional, effective, and legitimate nation-state; one that can assure security and stability for its citizens, defend its borders, deliver services effectively for its populace, and is responsible and accountable to its citizens. Neither a handbook nor a checklist, the document provides a comprehensive approach to planning and implementing a program to rebuild governance by U.S. peacekeeping forces during stability operations.