The Beginner's Guide to Nation-Building by Dobbins James & Crane Keith & Jones Seth G

Author:Dobbins, James & Crane, Keith & Jones, Seth G. [Dobbins, James & Crane, Keith & Jones, Seth G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: This volume presents a comprehensive compilation of best practices in nation-building and serves as an indispensable reference for planning future interventions., International Relations, World, Political Science, Regional Planning, Security (National & International), General, Peace, Public Policy
ISBN: 9780833039880
Google: -XMQOi-orDIC
Publisher: RAND Corporation
Published: 2007-01-15T14:57:48.296026+00:00

of equipment,

• Institutional

population

pharmaceuticals,

development and

suffering from

and other

reform of ministry

malnutrition

material delivered

of health

RAND MG557-5.2

12 See, for example, United Nations Development Group and World Bank (2005).

132 The Beginner’s Guide to Nation-Building

targets, and they must be prioritized to offer sequenced strategic direc-

tion. Fourth, performance metrics should guide policy actions and

donor interventions across all areas where lack of progress carries

the risk of reversing recovery—from political and security issues to the

economy and health. Fifth, indicators should get sufficient donor buy-

in to translate promises into financial commitments, disbursements,

and priority technical assistance. This type of buy-in may help to avoid

the fragmentation of donor assistance and its associated inefficiencies.

Key Actors

At least three major groups of actors should be involved in humani-

tarian efforts: major international organizations, NGOs, and donor

states.

The first group includes large international organizations, espe-

cially those within the United Nations’ family of agencies. The United

Nations has a number of a organizations that play critical roles in

humanitarian assistance: UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund),

UNHCR, the World Health Organization, the World Food Pro-

gramme, and the Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs.

Some tackle specific problems, such as the distribution of food or

other provisions for refugees. Others, like UNICEF, focus on a spe-

cific group, in this case children. In Kosovo, all humanitarian activities

were put under the direction of a Deputy Special Representative of the

UN Secretary-General who was nominated by UNHCR. This indi-

vidual was able to bring to bear the resources of his own organization

and had the authority to coordinate the efforts of other UN, national,

and nongovernmental agencies. This model worked well and should be

emulated where possible.

Many NGOs specialize in specific areas of humanitarian relief,

such as providing emergency medical care, delivering food or water, or

setting up camps. NGOs range from large international organizations,

such as the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent

Societies, to much smaller organizations. NGOs often have very spe-

cific knowledge about the country or region of concern. At the same

Humanitarian Relief 133

time, NGOs can also pose challenges. The rising number of NGOs has

created coordination problems. As noted earlier, these problems create

a strong impetus to establish institutional arrangements that increase

efficiency and help overcome coordination and collaboration problems.

NGOs may also have a wide range of goals and approaches that differ

from those of the local government, major international organizations,

other NGOs, and donors. Most highly experienced NGOs are part

of networks, such as InterAction, an alliance of U.S.-based NGOs, or

the International Council for Volunteer Agencies. Membership is often

overlapping, and these networks comprise the primary actors in any

emergency. They have established standards and membership criteria

and have been the drivers in many of the key performance initiatives.

Several U.S. government entities are involved in humanitarian

efforts, including USAID; the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and

Migration at the U.S. Department of State; and Department of Defense

forces involved in humanitarian assistance and stabilization efforts.

Donor states’ goals and policies may be driven by political and geostra-

tegic considerations rather than strictly by considerations of need. The

pursuit of these goals may sometimes result in programs at variance

with best practices viewed from a purely humanitarian perspective.

Costs

To assess humanitarian costs, we examined the per capita relief costs

in the first year of four nation-building operations: Afghanistan, Sierra

Leone, Haiti, and Liberia.

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