Blackwater Global Peace and Stability Operations Institute Symposium
“Leveraging the Public/Private Partnership in Peacekeeping”
The increasing role of the private sector supporting peace and stability operations is a popular topic in public discussions. The significant increase in demand for the private sector is a direct response to a critical need by the world’s industrialized nations as a result of the downsizing of their militaries and the outsourcing of support functions. As evidenced in Iraq, Afghanistan and a host of other countries worldwide, governmental, military, international and non-governmental agencies frequently interact to provide humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, crisis prevention, conflict resolution, and consequence management. Unfortunately there are barriers to operational effectiveness and success, such as, the lack of a shared syntax, diverse project management styles, an absence of standards for pre-deployment education and training and pre-project planning, improper recruitment and retention and the lack of cultural understanding or preparation. These examples often contribute to either ineffectiveness or failure of operations.
As the lines blur between organizations, the need for an honest dialogue between the various actors becomes increasingly important. The public sector, i.e. the civilian and military agencies, must engage the non-governmental organizations, and break down the traditional barriers that prevent effective coordination. Successful operations will require interagency solutions. These solutions will define the future of peace and stability operations enabling effective reconstruction, sustainment and the return to normalcy. A reassessment of the multifaceted relationships between the various players is necessary as multilateral intervention increases, and security concerns for non-governmental organizations increase. Forced to work together, disparate organizations will only accomplish their mission by developing mutually supporting relationships. To truly create effective global stability solutions requires pulling expertise from a myriad of partners, including military and civilian agencies along with nongovernmental organizations including private companies.
The Blackwater Global Peace and Stability Operations Institute (BW GPSOI) believes the private sector has expertise that the public sector can successfully leverage to rebuild failed nation states. This creates opportunities for democracy and capital markets as well as the creation of a genuine partnership on the road to success during peace and stability operations. The world is an increasing unstable place. The U.S. government, along with other countries, NATO, the African Union in addition to and the United Nations are frequently involved in peacekeeping and nation building operations. The oft forgotten partner in providing security and creating stable environments enabling successful reconstruction is the private sector. To this end, the First Annual BW GPSOI Symposium will focus on four themes that provide the foundation for successful stability and reconstruction operations:
1. Strategic Principals for Peace and Stability Operations. Strategic Principals provide the overarching concept for the symposium, which will examine the underlying strategic raison d'être for conducting peace and stability operations.
2. Interagency Coordination and Pre-Deployment Education and Training. Given the necessity of an inter-service and inter-agency response to peace and stability operations, this theme will look at integrated education and training. Further, it will explore current training, shortfalls and possible solutions. As well, it seeks a collaborative effort to develop a common lexicon, measures of effectiveness and metrics, plus the concept of inter-agency doctrine development.
3. Transitional Security and Integrated Planning. This theme will evaluate governmental and private sector capacity to supply security forces, systematically exploring other mission requirements and those forces that could disrupt operations. After the cessation of hostilities, most experts rank security as the first priority of peace and stability operations, security being critical to assist stability and reconstruction and facilitate the transition into sustainment and the creation of normalcy. Failure to provide sufficient security can endanger operational success and often forces makeshift solutions. This symposium will explore the need for a transition force between combat, peacekeeping operations and nation building coupled with an integrated planning process. It will also look at governmental and private sector capacity security solutions, systematically exploring the potential spoilers to successful operations.
