New at S/CRS Continued

• A Whole of Government Approach to Stability
  By Matthew Cordova, Deputy Director of Planning for Civil-Military Affairs
  Secretaries Clinton and Gates have spoken frequently and eloquently about the need to strengthen civilian instruments of national power to leverage the full potential of the U.S. Government (USG). Current U.S. national security challenges include violent extremist organizations, ongoing operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the global financial crisis, and weak and failing states...

• Report to Congress on Implementation of the Reconstruction and Stabilization Civilian Management Act of 2008
  "In July 2008, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) received initial funding in the amount of $55 million under the fiscal year 2008 supplemental to establish the Active and Standby Components..."

• Protecting our borders
  In a talk at Kellogg, Ambassador John Herbst explains how ungoverned states threaten national security — and what the U.S. government is doing in response.
  A new national security threat is causing concern for the U.S. government — and it has nothing to do with swine flu. Failed or failing states, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, represent a principal national security danger for the United States, said Ambassador John Herbst, coordinator for reconstruction and stabilization for the U.S. Department of State. Herbst delivered the lecture “Meeting the Challenge of Failed and Failing States: The Civilian Response Corps and a Whole-of-Government Framework” to Kellogg students and faculty at the Donald P. Jacobs Center on April 30.

• Civilian Response, March/April 2009 issue
  Featuring:
  Haiti Stabilization Initiative
  Conflict in Eastern Congo
  A Whole of Government Approach to Stability
  Partner Profile: Department of Justice
  Civilian Stabilization Initiative
  Bangladesh's Return to Democracy
  Deployment Stories
  

• Haiti Stabilization Initiative Creates Momentum for Change in Cité Soleil
  Two years after its inauguration, the $20 million Haiti Stabilization Initiative’s (HSI) integrated approach to civilian-led stabilization and reconstruction has brought real, palpable change to Cité Soleil. The initiative has done what it said it would do: create enough momentum of both security and development in Cité Soleil to enable this vital hub to stabilize enough for real development to begin.
  

• Taming the Failed States - John Herbst, F80
  From Tufts Journal
  When it comes to stabilizing countries in crisis, many now argue that military might alone is not enough. That is why John E. Herbst, F80, a career diplomat in the State Department, is forming a team of American civilians, the Civilian Response Corps, willing to travel to the world’s “hot spots,” where they will use their skills to help provide whatever basic services the local governments cannot. He calls the expeditionary, deployable civilian force “the future of American diplomacy.”
  

• Mullen Addresses Need for 'Whole Government' Approach from American Forces Press Service
  Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman and Navy Admiral Mike Mullen advocates for greater civilian involvement in stability operations.
  

• “…we've got to get our arms around what you could think of as traditional foreign aid -- health, education, economic empowerment and the like -- plus what is now becoming increasingly important -- that's reconstruction, stability, conflict resolution, peacekeeping challenges that we face. "
  -- Secretary Hillary Clinton, January 13, 2009
  

Stabilization and Reconstruction: Lessons from Sri Lanka
From DIPNOTE: The U.S. Department of State Official Blog
S/CRS Conflict Prevention Officer gives several key lessons from the U.S. engagement in Sri Lanka including the importance of interagency participation, proper leveraging of resources, and effective communication among all stakeholders in a response.

Providing a "Critically Missing Piece": USIP and the Growth of the Civilian Response Corps, an article from the December 2008 edition of USIP's PeaceWatch
12/2008

Ambassador John E. Herbst's interview on the Civilian Stabilization Initiative as aired on NPR's All Things Considered
05/19/2008

Transformational Diplomacy in Darfur, Article in State Magazine
06/2007

The Promise of Democratic Peace, Secretary Rice's Op-Ed in the Washington Post
12/11/2005

Ambassador Carlos Pascual and Dr. Steve Krasner publish in Foreign Affairs on Addressing State Failure: "In today's increasingly interconnected world, weak and failed states pose an acute risk to U.S. and global security. Indeed, they present one of the most important foreign policy challenges of the contemporary era." (July/August 2005)
07/2005