Winning the Peace: An American Strategy for Post-Conflict Reconstruction

This collection establishes a framework to review past efforts at post-conflict reconstruction (a subset of the work of nation-building). More importantly, it seeks to draw from an array of experiences to offer guidelines, or at least guideposts, on what to do in Iraq. Start at the back. In tabular form, Appendix 1 lays out the four primary areas to be addressed in post-conflict reconstruction: security, governance and political participation, social and economic well-being, and justice and reconciliation. It identifies the goals and tasks in each of these areas over time: initial response, transformation, and fostering sustainability. The case studies are Japan, Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq. Germany and Bosnia are glaring omissions, although each is referred to throughout. Unlike many collections, this one has a thorough index. This is an insightful guide to the individual cases, the cases in comparative perspective, and the challenges ahead in Iraq. I will assign it in appropriate undergraduate courses. Also, compare this book with a similar one by Dobbins et al., America's Role in Nation-Building (RAND, 2003).