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Strong States, Poo r Contro l

John A. Bertetto June 17, 2014

Much has been written about the concept of ungoverned spaces: what they are; wherethey exist; implications for national security, terrorism, and criminal activity; and how they maybe dealt with. While these are all important questions, the answer to the latter all depend uponthe answer of the first: What is an Ungoverened Space?How this is defined has clear andprofound implication on where they exist and how they are dealt with, both tactically andstrategically.

Perhaps the clearest definition comes from the RAND Corporation, who defined ungovernedterritoriesin their RAND Project Air Force report as:

(A)reas in which a state faces significant challenges in establishing control. They

can be failed or failing states, poorly controlled land or maritime borders, orareas within otherwise viable states to which the central governmentsauthoritydoes not extend(Rand Corporation 2006).

Many similar definitions have been offered, ranging across both ends of the spectrumRAND attempts to cover; they are territories in which no central government exists (failedstates or states engaged in civil/tribal war), they are spaces within a state where thegovernment does not maintain a strong presence or control.

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This spectrum, however, is far too broad. It asserts that strong governments withinternal territories where state authority is challenged are equivalent to failed states wherearmed groups engage in open conflict for control and no centralized government exists tooppose them. While operationally we may approach these two scenarios differently, the twodefinition model of governed/ungoverned forces leaders and scholars to deftly examine andtreat these situations differently. From the perspective of the researcher, strategist, and policywriter, the work toward understanding and resolving conflict and increasing territory stability byproviding leaders proper recommendations depends on proper framing of the problem. What isrequired is a third category of space governance: undergoverened spaces.

An undergoverened space is an area where government services (such as utilities,streets and sanitation, social, health, and public safety) are underrepresented, and where thecriminal element does not desire to exert direct control over the population.

The Englewood neighborhood of Chicago provides an excellent example of anundergoverned space. The City of Chicago is not only governed, but strongly governed. It hasmany affluent neighborhoods which are well maintained by the city, it has a vibrant and

economically rich downtown region, it has modern infrastructure and public utilities and safetysystems. Furthermore, its political power within the State of Illinois is strong. To its robustmunicipal governance it is supported by strong, well defined state and national governance; thecity receives aid from both of these government structures in terms of both financial supportand legal support (state and federal crime task forces; state and federal prosecutorial support).

Yet within this wealth of governance neighborhoods like Englewood exist, where street gangscommit frequent acts of violence, public utilities go unrepaired or are not provided,infrastructure literally crumbles, and health care and education suffer. Most strikingly, though,Englewood suffers these problems in ways other neighborhoods within Chicago do not. This isthe crux of the issue: How do territories with strong government and strong governmentrepresentation in some areas have such weak government control in others?

It is because these areas suffer from undergovernance. For whatever reason lack ofpolitical will, lack of regard, or lack of resources the functions of government do not reachthese areas in a significant way so as to alleviate their poor condition.

Recognizing the difference between undergoverned spaces and ungoverned spaces hasprofound implication on how we both understand and approach these areas. Most simply put, itis the difference between supporting a government and building a government. If militaryefforts in Iraq and Afghanistan have taught us only a few things, then this should be one ofthem.

Before concluding, two final notes.

First, it is entirely possible that an area be fully governed but that government isillegitimate or criminal. Returning to the example of Englewood in Chicago, the street gangswithin are not attempting to establish control over the area and itsresidents in any way outsideof their turning a blind eye to their criminal activities. There is no desire for or even accidental usurping of functions of government. Rather, the conflict between gangs remains primarilydriven by competing criminal enterprises. The local population, for the most part, is instead partof the physical landscape, much the same way buildings are. Gangs operate around them but

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do not engage them unless they make a concerted effort to stand in the gangsway. When thishappens, the gangs deal with the individual and move on. The result of this undergovernanceby both the state and the malefactors in an area is a local population largely ignored and forcedto fend for itself.

Second, no declarative statements regarding poor governing is made here. To thedegree which poor planning, inattentiveness, corruption, or any other form of poor governingplays a part in creating undergovernance remains a point for discussion. While poor governingdemonstrably exists within strong government control (governed spaces), it remains open fordebate if undergovernance is always caused by poor governing. Given the existence of the stateand therefore the act of governing within the complex environment, it is difficult to assertthat all undergovernance can be avoided had governing only been better.

The thoughts, opinions, and strategies described here are the original work of the author andare not intended to represent or speak on behalf of the Chicago Police Department, its policies,or its strategies.

John A. Bertetto is a sworn member of the Chicago Police Department.

His current areas of study and work include criminal street gangs, social

network analysis, and asymmetric threat mitigation. He is the author ofCounter-Gang Strategy: Adapted COIN in Policing Criminal Street Gangs,

Countering Criminal Street Gangs: Lessons from the Counterinsurgent

Battlespace, Designing Law Enforcement: Adaptive Strategies for theComplex Environment, and Toward a Police Ethos: Defining Our Values

as a Call to Action. Officer Bertettos most recent research article

ReducingGang Violence through Network Influence Based Targeting ofSocial Programshas been accepted to the Industry & Government Trackof the 2014 Knowledge Discovery and Data Mining (KDD) annual

conference, a conference with a 20% acceptance rate. Officer Bertetto has

worked street patrol, organized crime, and research and developmentassignments. His applied research projects have led to collaborative

partnerships with students and faculty at USMA West Point, George

Mason University, and the University of Maryland. He is one of theprimary designers and the law enforcement SME behind the GANG social

network analysis software, which has been featured in Popular Science,

Governing, and on MITs technology blog, as well as profiled on ABC

and BBC news. Officer Bertetto holds a Master of Science degree fromWestern Illinois University and a Master of Business Administration

degree from St. Xavier University.