Small Wars Journal

U.K.: Joint Doctrine Note on Security Transitions

Sat, 11/06/2010 - 5:34pm
Stabilisation Unit and DCDC Launch Joint Doctrine Note on Security Transitions - UK's Stabilisation Unit (H/T Josh Paul for the e-mail). From the SU web site:

The Stabilisation Unit (SU) and the MOD's Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre (DCDC) launched a Joint Doctrine Note on security transitions. This heralds a milestone in civilian-military co-operation and is the first time a civilian agency has directly co-developed joint doctrine. The doctrine has also had significant input from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), Department of International Development (DFID) and the Cabinet Office.

The document has already contributed to planning for the transition of the international military presence in Afghanistan and is being drawn on by other international agencies interested in peacekeeping and stability operations, including NATO, the US Army's PKSOI and the UN's DPKO.

Charlotte Morris from the SU's lessons team headed the civilian side of the project and called the doctrine note a watershed moment for HMG, "This project shows how guidance can be strengthened by drawing on the combined expertise that civilian and military specialists have to offer. Actively drawing on colleagues with a range of in-country experiences and testing the findings through a scenario based planning experiment is a huge step forward from seeking collaboration for policy coherence sake alone."

Lt Col Paul Armitage of DCDC further added: "The vast amount of interest shown by a number of countries and organisations has been impressive; it highlights the relevance and timeliness of this particular document. The fact that it has been produced collaboratively simply strengthens the product and adds greater credibility to the output. I have no doubt that more collaborative documents will be produced over the coming years."

Security transition has been highlighted as a challenging component of contemporary stabilisation and peacekeeping operations, which if handled badly can plunge a country deep into crisis. The Joint Doctrine Note (JDN) informs decision makers and staff working on security transitions, drawing on evidence from Sierra Leone, Liberia, Timor Leste, Kosovo and Haiti.

The note frames transition as a political as well as technical process and demonstrates that principles of political focus, legitimacy, capability and sustainability can help to ensure transition supports the wider political process. This is different from previous approaches which have often cast security transition as a purely logistical process focussed on training and equipping of host nation security personnel. The note concludes that the outcome of any transition lies ultimately in the hands of the host nation and is context specific.

The document complements existing guidance including JDP 3-40 (Security & Stabilisation: The Military Contribution), the Stabilisation Unit's Stabilisation Guidance Notes and DFID's work on state-building and peace-building and security and justice development.

Coordinated planning and implementation across the security and justice sector in support of the wider transitional process is seen as key to securing stable transition. Further recommendations from the note include the importance of collaborative working of UK military and civilian agencies as part of a multinational and inter-agency comprehensive approach.

The document was developed through participation in the Multinational Experiment 6 process, a US Joint Forces Command-led process, during which numerous international military and civilian experts provided advice on the concept development. This culminated in a planning experiment in June facilitated by Stabilisation Unit's Planning and Lessons Team and involving over 100 personnel representing government departments, military, academia and NGOs from over 10 partner countries.

To read the document, please click here.

Stabilisation Unit and DCDC Launch Joint Doctrine Note on Security Transitions.