Defense and Security Studies Commons^™

Teaching Notes For Chapter 2: The Road To Good Intentions: British Nation-Building In Aden, Scott Smitson

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for The Road to Good Intentions: British Nation-building in Aden, by Scott Smitson.

Despite well over a century of colonial influence in South Arabia, the British government failed to create a lasting and effective constitutional construct. Challenges included addressing the myriad of issues inherent when trying to introduce democratic institutions in an area that had little to no experience with democratic norms and ideas concurrent with western perceptions of modern states. Culminating in the Aden Emergency of 1964–1967, the British efforts to disengage from its former colonial territory in a preplanned manner transformed into a complex operation …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 11: The Conduct Of Pacification In Vietnam-Case Study, Rufus Phillips

Teaching Notes

The purpose of this case as a teaching tool is to familiarize students with issues related to assisting other countries in stability operations, in meeting the challenges of coordinating between military and civilian personnel, and in creating interagency teams across the military and civilian government spectrum. It is also useful in fleshing out some of the issues associated with force of personality in cooperative leadership and decision-making.

CORDS unified the American pacification effort from top to bottom. The civil-military advisory teams CORDS created were essential to the success, albeit temporary, of pacification in Vietnam. So too were two other factors: …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 16: Whole Of Society Conflict Prevention: Kenya’S Contrasted With Afghanistan And Iraq, Lisa Schirch

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Whole of Society Conflict Prevention: Kenya’s Contrasted with Afghanistan and Iraq, by Lisa Schirch.

This case study looks at the three inter-related concepts; conflict prevention, civil society, and a "whole of society" or comprehensive approach. It compares and contrasts the Whole of Society Approach to Conflict Prevention in Kenya with Afghanistan and Iraq. A brief literature review outlines the relevance of these three concepts to current security discussions. Lessons from what worked in Kenya and other countries illuminate the successes and failures of civil society efforts at conflict prevention in Iraq and Afghanistan where attention focused largely …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 14: A Penny For Your Thoughts, A Nickel For Your Heart: Buying Popular Support For Counterinsurgency, Justin Gorkowski

Teaching Notes

The use of money as a weapon in the current conflicts is a contentious issue and one that is gaining more attention. This case can be used to generate thought, analysis, and discussion to fit an array of courses in a foreign-policy-related curriculum. The case can be tailored through classroom discussion to highlight issues as desired by the instructor or determined by the syllabus. The questions and background resources that follow are supplementary material that may help guide classroom instruction and discussion. They are not all inclusive but serve as a tool to guide instruction according to specific learning objectives. …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 3: The Declarations Of Independence: The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, Rudy L. Hightower Ii

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for The Declarations of Independence: The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic, by Rudy L. Hightower II.

The Declarations of Independence tells the story of two lifelong, middle-aged friends who are on opposite, ethnically divided sides of a sovereignty issue facing their homeland, known locally as Pridnestrovie. Not recognized by the majority of the International Community, Pridnestrovie must decide between fighting for independence and peaceful reunification with Moldova. Yet, either course of action could lead to perennially tense co-existence between Pridnestrovians and Moldavans. The case study addresses several recurring factors found in most sovereignty disputes, such as ethnicity, history, international …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 12: Security By Drones: The Global Market For Remote-Controlled Warfare, Rebecca Lefebvre

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Security by Drones: The Global Market for Remote-Controlled Warfare, by Rebecca LeFebvre.

At its core, this case is about how advancements in technology can change the face of armed warfare. Policies, standards, and international law often lag behind these advancements leaving a void to be filled by the whim of an anarchical international system. Drone technology seems to have emerged overnight to the front line of global armed conflict. This case highlights the implications of drone technology to public-private sector interaction, civil-military coordination, and computer-human ethics.

Teaching Notes For Chapter 8: Right And Wrong, Balanced On The Edge Of A Spear: U.S. Forces At A Mosque In Baghdad, Joshua Potter

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Right and Wrong, Balanced on the Edge of a Spear: U.S. Forces at a Mosque in Baghdad, by Joshua Potter.

The purpose of this case is to provide a framework to understand the complex operational environment facing a U.S. advisor team, and to equip the student to ask the right questions that will help him or her to be prepared.

This case study will take students through the leadership challenges faced by an advisor team in Iraq. The discussions are intended to provide an understanding of local politics, including an appreciation for the expectations and needs …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 17: Military Intervention And Diplomatic Engagement In Libya: A Collage Of Policy, Force And Law, Anna F. Triponel, Paul R. Williams

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Military Intervention and Diplomatic Engagement in Libya: A Collage of Policy, Force And Law, by Anna F. Triponel and Paul R. Williams.

This case study provides an opportunity for students to examine the role that law plays in decisions relating to highly complex operations—how it enables, shapes and constrains political-military options and policy approaches. Five key political-military decision points will be examined relating to the case of Libya. First, should the United States join France and Great Britain in using force to protect the people of Libya? Second, what is the extent of military force that …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 5: Basra: Strategic Dilemmas And Escalation Of Force Options, John Hodgson

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Basra: Strategic Dilemmas and Escalation of Force Options, by John Hodgson.

The events in Basra in the spring of 2003 illustrate a “hybrid” conflict with elements of conventional and unconventional warfare: humanitarian assistance, managing IDPs, security operations with multiple state and nonstate actors, all occurring simultaneously in the same geographic area and period of time. In that regard, the situation in Basra in late March and early April 2003 presented a worst-case scenario both for military commanders and civilian leadership. Thus, this case represents a challenging test-bed, a vehicle for students to discuss the dilemmas and …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 9: The Kuwait Task Force: Postconflict Planning And Interagency Coordination, Dennis Barlow

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for The Kuwait Task Force: Postconflict Planning and Interagency Coordination, by Dennis Barlow.

Virtually all national security planners decry the lack of interagency planning and cooperation, yet very few attempts have been made to codify or solidify this critical process successfully. This case study demonstrates that a great part of insuring interagency cooperation and integration rests with mid-level planners and staff members. They must not only know their own area of expertise, but need to be ready to advocate courses of action by identifying and utilizing interagency mechanisms and “openings” to energize the system.

Teaching Notes For Chapter 6: Security By Contractor: Outsourcing In Peace And Stability Operations, Volker Franke

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Security by Contractor: Outsourcing in Peace and Stability Operations, by Volker Franke.

This case examines the benefits and limitations of outsourcing peace and stability functions to a rapidly growing private sector and illustrates implications for civil-military cooperation in complex operations. The cases traces the history and rise of the security industry, categorizes the types of firms providing security and security support services, illustrates the reasons and motivations for individuals to seek employment as security contractors and discusses implications of the growing market for privatizing security on the U.S. military. Finally, the case explores advantages and shortcomings …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 10: Military Provision Of Humanitarian And Civic Assistance: A Day In The Life Of A Civil Affairs Team In The Horn Of Africa, Jessica Piombo

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Military Provision of Humanitarian and Civic Assistance: A Day in the Life of a Civil Affairs Team in the Horn of Africa, by Jessica Piombo.

This case study is designed as a retrospective study to encourage discussion about the ways that Civil Affairs teams operate; the logic and implications of how and where the U.S. military conducts strategically focused humanitarian assistance; and the impact of the Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa (CJTF-HOA) in the region. The case raises larger issues about civil-military coordination in stabilization and reconstruction activities as a secondary focus. It engages the …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 4: Mozambique: A Chance For Peace, Anne L. Phillips

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Mozambique: A Chance for Peace, by Anne L. Phillips.

Since the end of the Cold War, fragile states present of the greatest challenges to national, regional, and global security. The number of complex operations, or Security, Stability, Transition and Reconstruction missions, has grown significantly since the early 1990s. The record of assistance is decidedly mixed. The successes—Namibia, El Salvador and Mozambique—are outnumbered by the many efforts that have failed or remain in question. Empirical evidence shows that roughly 40 percent of all countries that experience internal conflict succumb to conflict again within a decade following a …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 7: Leading Healing In A Broken Unit, Edward H. Powley, Scott N. Taylor

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Leading Healing in a Broken Unit, by Edward H. Powley and Scott N. Taylor.

Source material for this case study comes from the following: the first-hand experiences of an officer embedded within the ground combat element of a Marine Air Ground Task Force; reports on the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Iraq and Afghanistan; and first-hand knowledge of military officers recently returned from combat operations. Specific names, dates, and locations have been changed and descriptive background information added.

The announcement of increased deployments meant additional preparations for many military units that anticipated deployment to …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 13: Dynamic Tension: Security, Stability, And The Opium Trade, Peter Curry

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Dynamic Tension: Security, Stability, and the Opium Trade, by Peter Curry.

This case it is about managing a set of complex or wicked problems in an uncertain environment, not about the opium trade in Afghanistan per se.. Students will learn about the tools for influencing events or potential outcomes when one does not have direct control over the stakeholders. The overall question is, "How do you get your mission accomplished when you are just one actor on the stage with several actors—each of whom is reading from a different script?"

Military officers at the War College …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 15: Reconsidering Reintegration, Kimberly Fletcher

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for Reconsidering Reintegration, by Kim Fletcher.

This case is designed to be taught in three separate parts; however, the first two parts can also stand alone from the third. In Part I the students are introduced to the characters and they begin to get emotionally involved in the story. They are forced to make a decision that faces many child soldiers: commit an atrocity against your family or in your own town, or be killed. At this point in the case the students may start to recognize some of the broader problems of delineating victims from perpetrators in …

Teaching Notes For Chapter 18: The Iraq War: Efforts During Conflict To Address Past Atrocities And Seek Accountability, Sandra L. Hodgkinson

Teaching Notes

Teaching Notes for The Iraq War: Efforts During Conflict to Address Past Atrocities and Seek Accountability, by Sandra L. Hodgkinson.

This case examines a hybrid model for addressing both past atrocities and establishment of a culture of human rights protection in a country plagued by decades of human rights abuses. The CPA’s establishment of an office to support these human rights issues was unique for a military occupation force during a period of ongoing hostilities. At the highest level, this case explores the issue of whether war-torn nations should seek justice for past atrocities, particularly when there are ongoing …