Planning and Assessing Stability Operations: A Proposed Value Focus Thinking Approach

By Gerald D. Fensterer

Stability operations are vital to establish peace in the aftermath of conflict. Larger nations in the eastern hemisphere have been in a constant state of change since the end of the Cold War. Smaller countries struggling for independence from the former USSR as well as several Middle Eastern countries and Africa are suffering from conflict both within and without. The United States is often called on for military support during conflict. The new American military paradigms include establishing peace through stability operations after a military conflict. Due to this new role, military decision makers face many difficulties in conducting successful stability operations. Compounding this problem is the limited number of resources pertaining to stability operations: experts, doctrine, knowledge, and technology. Two overarching challenges of stability operations facing decision makers are planning and prioritizing of stability operations and determining progress. This thesis applies a structured analytical approach to stability operations by using the decision analysis technique of value focus thinking. It develops a tool in the form of a value hierarchy that can be used to assist in the planning and prioritizing of stability operations. The purpose of the hierarchy is two-fold. The main purpose is to provide the decision maker with a method to measure the progress of the stability operations in moving a failed state to a stable one. The secondary purpose is to help the decision maker determine which actions will have the greatest impact on improving the stability of the nation-state.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1249579287
• ISBN13: 9781249579281
• Release Date: October 2012
• Publisher: Biblioscholar
• Length: 178 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 6.1" x 9.2"