{"id":22964,"date":"2021-02-01T08:28:56","date_gmt":"2021-02-01T13:28:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/comw.org\/pda\/?p=22964"},"modified":"2024-10-08T15:46:36","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T19:46:36","slug":"principles-for-building-international-security-confidence-and-stability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/comw.org\/pda\/principles-for-building-international-security-confidence-and-stability\/","title":{"rendered":"Principles for Building Confidence and Stability into National Defenses and International Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

…toward sufficient, affordable, robust, and reliable defense postures<\/h2>\n

by Charles Knight and Carl Conetta, 01 February 2021 (revised 15 March 2022.)<\/p>\n

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\"armed<\/a><\/p>\n

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Nations invest vast sums in armed forces,<\/strong><\/p>\n

But will these assets deliver on their promise to defend the nation against aggression reliably?<\/p>\n

Will armed forces provide national defense without contributing to international tension, domestic instability, or economic distress?<\/p>\n

These questions remind us that there is more than one way a defense posture can fail \u2013 and also that success has multiple dimensions and objectives.<\/p>\n

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Military Stabilization<\/strong><\/p>\n

Military stabilization<\/em> requires an appropriate and affordable defense establishment and a sufficient, steadfast, and non-provocative defense posture.<\/p>\n

Military structures must also avoid aggravating an existing or potential civil conflict. For countries that have experienced severe ethnic and political strife, the national security apparatus itself must not contribute to centrifugal forces.<\/p>\n

Military functions and police functions must avoid politicization.\u00a0 Police functions must not be militarized. The composition of forces should reflect the ethnic composition of the nation as closely as possible.<\/p>\n

Full-time, part-time, national, and local forces should be thoroughly integrated and interdependent to ensure control by national civilian authorities even in times of great stress to political consent. Full-time troops should generally serve nationally, while more part-time troops may serve locally.<\/p>\n

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Appropriate Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n

An\u00a0appropriate\u00a0defense<\/em> establishment is suitable for the particular society it serves. Accordingly, nations should be circumspect about the imitation of foreign military structures, preferring instead to build them according to national character and the skills of their people.<\/p>\n

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Affordable Defense<\/strong><\/p>\n

An\u00a0affordable\u00a0defense<\/em> will achieve security within their existing resource and demographic constraints. To meet affordability criteria, nations that are confident of their own defensive intent can exploit the structural and operational efficiencies of a defensive orientation. These home-court<\/em> advantages include the high morale of troops defending home territory, intimate knowledge of the terrain, shorter lines of supply and communication, and the opportunity to prepare the likely combat zones intensively.<\/p>\n

The inherent efficiencies of a defensive orientation also make it easier to reconcile the confidence building defense criteria of sufficiency, steadfastness, and non-provocation.<\/p>\n

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Sufficiency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sufficiency<\/em>\u00a0refers to how well a defense posture matches a threat matrix. The degree of \u201cmatch\u201d involves both qualitative and quantitative aspects of the threat(s).<\/p>\n

A broad review of national objectives is crucial in providing a context for the measure of sufficiency. This process will help specify what is to be protected and set the level of defense or deterrence certainty that a nation wishes to attain. Once objectives are clear, it is possible (although by no means easy) to determine military sufficiency. Without such a process, it is impossible to assess sufficiency:\u00a0 The resulting size and composition of defense forces will remain subject to political whim.<\/p>\n

In some cases, states will discover that they cannot hope to afford the highest degree of deterrence with a transparent and assured capability to quickly and efficiently defeat any aggression. This is a common dilemma for many smaller states with larger and more powerful neighbors. However, lesser objectives may be within reach and desirable, for instance, the capacity to substantially raise the cost of any aggression and buy time for diplomatic pressure and supportive intervention from allies.<\/p>\n

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Steadfastness<\/strong><\/p>\n

A\u00a0steadfast\u00a0posture<\/em> combines the qualities of robustness and reliability. Although, in some sense, encompassed by the notion of sufficiency, \u201csteadfastness\u201d refers to intrinsic (that is, non-relational) aspects of a defense posture. \u201cIntegrity\u201d and \u201ccohesion\u201d are approximate synonyms for steadfastness.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>Robustness<\/em> refers to a defense array\u2019s capacity to absorb shock and suffer losses without catastrophic collapse. Instead, the defense maintains a cohesive combat capability. Even when facing an overwhelming threat level, a robust defense force will degrade gracefully, buying time for re-grouping, mobilization of reserves, diplomatic intervention, or outside assistance.<\/p>\n

As a general rule, a steadfast and robust military posture will not exhibit an over-reliance on concentrated forces and base areas which provide lucrative targets for an enemy. Nor will it depend on a narrow set of technologies that an enemy can counter through a dedicated innovation and acquisition program.<\/p>\n

Reliability<\/em> is the second aspect of steadfastness. It refers to the military\u2019s capacity to perform as planned with high confidence across a wide variety of environmental<\/em> circumstances. A reliable defense will avoid the security gamble of high-risk operational plans or dependence on immature or poorly integrated technologies.<\/p>\n

Reliability is also a function of social relations in society at large, in the nation\u2019s armed forces, and in its personnel\u2019s motivation and training. A reliable military is motivated and ready to conscientiously serve the state in a role that is understood to be both important and limited.<\/p>\n

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Non-Provocation and Confidence Building<\/strong><\/p>\n

A defense posture is non-provocative\u00a0if it:<\/p>\n