Research Catalog

Title

Building security in Africa : an evaluation of U.S. security sector assistance in Africa from the Cold War to the present / Stephen Watts, Trevor Johnston, Matthew Lane [and 3 others].

Author

Watts, Stephen (Political Scientist)

Publication

Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 2018.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Additional Authors

• Johnston, Trevor (Political scientist)
• Lane, Matthew (Political scientist)
• International Security and Defense Policy Center.
• Rand Corporation. National Security Research Division.
• Rand Corporation.
• United States. Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Description

xxvii, 109 pages : illustrations; 23 cm.

Summary

The United States has sought to combat security threats in Africa principally by supporting partner governments, and security sector assistance (SSA) has been one of the primary tools it has used. Rigorous evaluations of the overall impact of SSA, however, have been extremely rare. A RAND Corporation study used statistical models to evaluate the impact that U.S.-provided SSA has had on political violence in Africa-in particular, the incidence of civil wars and insurgencies, terrorist attacks, and state repression. The authors found that SSA has had a mixed record. During the Cold War, SSA likely exacerbated instability, leading to a higher incidence of civil wars. During the post-Cold War era, it seems to have had little net effect, likely reflecting recipient-government failures to sustain the capabilities developed through SSA and to harness these capability gains to effective political-military strategies. When SSA has been implemented in conjunction with peacekeeping operations, however, it has had a consistently positive impact across a range of outcomes, including the likelihood of civil war recurrence, the incidence of terrorist attacks, and the extent of state repression. These findings have important implications for future U.S. policies in Africa and potentially beyond.

Series Statement

[Research report] ; RR-2447-OSD

Uniform Title

Research report (Rand Corporation) ; RR-2447-OSD.

Subjects

• Political stability
• Military assistance, American > Africa > Evaluation
• Terrorism > Prevention
• Political stability > Africa
• Terrorism > Africa > Prevention
• United States > Africa Command
• Military assistance, American > Evaluation
• Africa
• Security sector > Africa > Evaluation
• United States > Department of Defense
• Peace-building > Africa

Note

• "RAND National Defense Research Institute."
• "Prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense."
• "This research was ... conducted within the International Security and Defense Policy Center of the RAND National Defense Research Institute"--Preface (page iii).

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (pages 91-109).

Additional Formats (note)

• Also available on the internet via WWW in PDF format.

Contents

Introduction -- U.S. SSA in Africa -- The Debate over the Effectiveness of SSA in Africa -- Research Approach for Evaluating the Impact That SSA Has in Africa -- Findings on the Impact That SSA Has in Africa -- Conclusions and Policy Recommendations.

Call Number

Sc E 19-250

ISBN

• 9781977400499
• 1977400493

OCLC

1056242198

Author

Watts, Stephen (Political Scientist), author.

Title

Building security in Africa : an evaluation of U.S. security sector assistance in Africa from the Cold War to the present / Stephen Watts, Trevor Johnston, Matthew Lane [and 3 others].

Publisher

Santa Monica, CA : RAND, 2018.

Type of Content

text

Type of Medium

unmediated

computer

Type of Carrier

volume

online resource

Series

[Research report] ; RR-2447-OSD

Research report (Rand Corporation) ; RR-2447-OSD.

Bibliography

Includes bibliographical references (pages 91-109).

Additional Formats

Also available on the internet via WWW in PDF format.

Connect to:

https://doi.org/10.7249/RR2447

Added Author

Johnston, Trevor (Political scientist), author.

Lane, Matthew (Political scientist), author.

International Security and Defense Policy Center.

Rand Corporation. National Security Research Division.

Rand Corporation.

United States. Department of Defense. Office of the Secretary of Defense.

Research Call Number

Sc E 19-250