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It All Starts with Training
Crisis Prevention and U.S. Foreign Aairs Agencies
John Norris, Abigail Long, Sarah Margon, and David Abramowitz December 2011
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It All Starts with TrainingCrisis Prevention and U.S. Foreign Aairs Agencies
John Norris, Abigail Long, Sarah Margon, and David Abramowitz December 2011
About Humanity United
Humanity United is a oundation dedicated to building peace and advancing human reedom. At home and
in the corners o the globe where these ideals are challenged most, we lead and support eorts to lit upthe voices and will o people, ensure good governance and the rule o law, engage markets and business as
a orce or change, and encourage the exploration o promising ideas and innovations to end conict and
slavery. All with the belie that everyone has the right to a lie that is peaceul and ree. Learn more at
www.HumanityUnited.org.
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Contents 1 Introduction and summary
6 The need for better crisis prevention training
at State and USAID
14 The civil-military training divide
24 Competing conflict assessment tools
28 Recommendations
32 Conclusion
33 About the authors
34 Acknowledements
35 Endnotes
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Source: http://www.undorpeace.org/global/library/cr-11-14-s-ailedstatesindex2011-1106q.pd
The Fund or Peace 2011 Failed States Index underscores he enormiy o
challenges acing U.S. diplomas and developmen expers around he world
oday. Te repor ranked 177 naions based on heir respecive levels o sabiliy
and he social, economic, and poliical pressures ha hey ace. Te color-coded
map above denes hose counries wih increasingly darker shades o red as
hose mos a risk o v iolence and upheaval, while hose in increasingly darker
shades o green are seen as susainably sable. Our repor, I All Sars wih
raining, explores he undamenal quesion o how we can beter prepare
Americas oreign policy expers o deal wih his complex, dangerous, and
rapidly changing environmen.
Failed States Index 2011
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Introduction and summary
Signicanly improved raining courses and proessional developmen
opporuniies are criically needed a core U.S. oreign aairs agencies,
namely he Deparmen o Sae and Unied Saes Agency or Inernaional
Developmen, or USAID. Wihou enhanced raining, diplomas will coninue
o lack he broad range o ools hey need o deal wih he many complicaed
and challenging global issues hey regularly encouner wheher on he ground
or back in Washingon.
A key ool is being beter a conic prevenion given he increasing regulariy
wih which poliical insabiliy can emerge anywhere in he world. Secreary o
Sae Clinon noed, Wih he righ ools, raining, and leadership, our diplomas
and developmen expers can deuse crises beore hey explode.1
Wih he righ raining, diplomas and developmen expers can advance
democracy, galvanize economic growh, and srenghen he rule o law beore a
conic emergesno aer.
As poliical dynamics around he globe coninue o shi unexpecedly, prevening
and responding o expensive and desrucive global crises will need o be a cor-
nersone o our oreign policyparicularly i he Unied Saes wans o become
more eecive inernaionally and avoid cosly engagemens over he long run. In
order or ha o happen, our diplomas and developmen expers need o possess
he righ skill se and ools.
Tis paper looks a curren conic prevenion raining in oreign aairs agencies
and how his raining can be improved.
Recent government reviews highlight why conflict prevention matters
Te Obama adminisraion has conduced a broad series o reviews on how U.S.
diplomacy and developmen are organized and conduced around he globe.
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Cenral o all o hese reviews is ha he Unied Saes needs o do a ar beter job
o prevening, miigaing, and resolving violen conics and crises.
Te reviews include, mos noably, he Quadrennial Diplomacy and
Developmen Review, or QDDR, released in December 2010, a Presidenial
Sudy Direcive on Global Developmen policy issued in Sepember 2010, andhe recen Presidenial Sudy Direcive on prevening mass arociies announced
in Augus o 2011.2 USAIDs recenly released policy ramework incorporaes
many o he goals o improved crisis prevenion idenied in hese reviews ino
is policy prioriies and operaing principles.
Te QDDR is admirably blun in recognizing ha he U.S. approach o prevening
and managing crises is usually oo slow and ad hoc. Te U.S. governmen oen
ailed o bring appropriae experise o bear and largely ailed o insiuionalize
even basic lessons learned.3
A number o saisics rom he QDDR make clear how pressing conic preven-
ion is or he Unied Saes:
Close o 60 percen o Sae and USAIDs oreign assisance goes o 50 coun-
ries ha are in he mids o, recovering rom, or rying o preven conic
or sae ailure.4
More han 25 percen o Sae and USAIDs personnel serve in he 30 counries
classied as highes risk or conic and insabiliy.5
More han 2,000 civilian personnel are currenly deployed o Aghanisan and Iraq. 6
Prevenion is also cos eecive: According o he Carnegie Commission on he
Prevenion o Deadly Conic, or every $1 dollar spen on prevenion i would
cos $60 o inervene miliarily aer violence erups. 7
Moreover, Brown Universiys Coss o War Projec esimaes ha he oal cos
o he ongoing U.S. involvemen in Iraq, Aghanisan, and Pakisan has been
more han $3 rillion.8
While ha number is an esimae, i makes obvious hahe U.S. governmen remains willing o expend enormous resources responding
o crises while shorchanging even modes invesmens in beter raining our
ocials o preven hem.
The U.S.
government
remains willing
expend enormo
resources
responding
to crises while
shortchanging
even modest
investments in
better training o
ocials to preve
them.
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Tis approach resuled in he Unied Saes conribuing almos hal o oal
world miliary expendiures las year. (see Figure 1)
Te QDDR issued his clarion call:
We start by embracing crisis and conict prevention andresolution; the promotion o sustainable, responsible, and
eective security and governance in agile states; and oster-
ing security and reconstruction in the aermath o conict
as a central national security objective and as a core State
mission that must be closely supported by USAID and many
other U.S. government agencies.9
Te QDDR dedicaed an enire chaper o Prevening
and Responding o Crisis, Conic and Insabiliy, and
esablished a new undersecreary or civilian securiy,democracy, and human righs whose primary role includes
prevening and responding o crisis and conic, securing
democracy, and advancing human righs.
Te QDDR also creaed he new Bureau o Conic
and Sabilizaion Operaions, or CSO, wihin he Sae
Deparmen. I ocially launched in November 2011,
and i builds on he ormer oce o he Coordinaor or
Sabilizaion and Reconsrucion, which was esablished in 2004 o lead,
coordinae, and insiuionalize U.S. governmen civilian capaciy o preven or
prepare or posconic siuaions and o help sabilize and reconsruc socieies
in ransiion rom conic or civil srie.
Like he QDDR , he Presidenial Sudy Direcive on U.S. Global Developmen
policy called or a beter balance o civilian and miliary power o address conic,
insabiliy, and humaniarian crises, and he adminisraions recen Presidenial
Sudy Direcive on mass arociies idenied mass arociies and genocide preven-
ion as a core naional securiy ineres and moral responsibiliy.
Similarly, USAIDs 2011-2015 policy ramework noed ha he agency would
develop new approaches o equip sa and parners wih he skills o analyze and
respond o dynamics o conic and insabiliy.10
Source: Credit Stockholm I nternational Peace Research Institute; http://www.sipri.
research/armaments/milex/actsheet2010.
Figure 1
A big piece of the pie
Top 10 shares o world military expenditures, 201
42.8%
3.7%3.6%
3.6%
25.3%
China
7.3%
5.8%
2.8%
2.8%
2.3%
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So on paper, crisis prevenion is a U.S. governmen prioriy. ranslaing he
adminisraions rheoric ino realiy, however, is remendously dicul, and iwould likely require ar more disrupive changes o curren sysems han any o
hese reviews acknowledge. Te USAID policy ramework is an imporan sar,
bu unless signican insiuional reorm occurs in he near uure no meaningul
change will happen.
Beter raining is only one piece o he puzzle. Policymakers need o orego he
insinc o manage he inbox and ocus greaer atenion on over-he-horizon hreas
beore hey become ull-blown crises. rue conic prevenion requires policymak-
ers o make recommendaions when inormaion is imperec and he coss o acion
are high. In a consrained budge environmen he margin or error is slim.
Bu ransorming how U.S. civilian agencies address conic prevenion will
demand more han major insiuional shisi will also require a much
larger and more dicul o execue sea change in he culures o boh he Sae
Deparmen and USAID wih suppor rom Congress, as we deail in he paper.
Sill, raining is a good place o sar. Our research or his paper made abundanly
and someimes painully clear ha he sae o conic prevenion raining a
boh Sae and USAID remains shockingly limied, ad hoc, and uncoordinaed.raining has litle or no link o career advancemen, as opposed o our miliary
branches, and i is oen seen as an inconvenience raher han an asse.
Many o he U.S. governmen ocials making key decisions on conic preven-
ion a Sae and USAID hold almos zero ormal raining in he basic preceps
Throughout the paper we use the term crisis prevention in its broadest sense to
include everything rom the use o conict early warning systems to eorts to help-
ing a nation build durable peace as it emerges rom a conict.
Crisis prevention is oten divided between direct prevention and structural
prevention. Direct prevention reers to immediate, short-term eorts to avert
a deadly crisis or conict such as intensied senior-level negotiations or
deploying a peacekeeping orce in the midst o escalating tensions. Structural
prevention eorts are longer term and seek to address underlying causes and
triggers o potential violent crises through economic development or build-
ing more accountable and equitable institutions.
What is crisis prevention?
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ha would allow hem o be eecive in his role. Tis is no o blame hose
dedicaed ocials and educaors currenly conducing conic prevenion rain-
ing in aliaion wih Sae and USAID. Insead, i is a serious indicmen o he
broader sysem in which hese rusraed ocials nd hemselves embedded.
Tis paper explains why crisis prevenion raining or ocials a he SaeDeparmen and USAID needs o be improved, evaluaes he insiuional
changes in crisis raining arising rom he QDDR and oher ocial reviews, and
makes a number o pracical recommendaions o srenghen his raining going
orward amid an era o increasing ederal budge auseriy.
Te paper also explores he sark dierences beween how raining is
approached in he U.S. miliary as opposed o he civi lian oreign aairs agen-
cies, and looks a he compeing conic assessmen models among he civilian
agencies hemselves.
Our key recommendaions o improve crisis prevenion raining include (all are
discussed in greaer deail laer in his repor):
ying promoions direcly o conic prevenion raining Giving pos bid preerence o hose Foreign Service ocers who complee a
ceried core curriculum in conic prevenion raining Requiring all incoming Sae and USAID ocers o ake a basic course on
conic prevenion11 Providing or addiional raining or Foreign Service ocers deploying o a
conic-prone counry Requiring Foreign Service ocers o complee a year o advanced raining o be
eligible or promoion o Senior Foreign Service Esablishing he personnel capaciy or civilian inernaional aairs agencies o
do beter raining Creaing a new cone wihin he Foreign Service dedicaed o conic prevenion Synchronizing USAIDs operaing expenses wih is program budge
As he map rom he 2011 Failed Saes Index a he beginning o his repor
illusraes, he number o counries around he globe a risk o unres and whole-sale violence remains disurbingly high. Unless he Unied Saes can ge ahead
o his curve and do a beter job in crisis prevenion and miigaion, he coss o
Americaand is naional ineresswill remain unenable.
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The need for better crisis prevention
training at State and USAID
Some Sae Deparmen ocials argue ha diplomacy is conic prevenion,
and o some exen his is rue. Diplomas are expeced o analyze he poliical
siuaions in counries where hey are deployed and acively engage wih various
paries o a conic or even help negoiae soluions o problems.
Bu in realiy, eecive direc and srucural conic prevenion (see ex box in
he inroducion) require a specic se o skills ha go beyond he day-o-day
managemen o bilaeral relaionsa dicul ask in and o isel. Tese skil lsrequire specic raining in early warning and conic analysis; conic miiga-
ion, mediaion, negoiaion, and resoluion; and posconic peacebuilding and
reconciliaion. Righ now, Sae and USAID ocials are no receiving adequae
raining in hese areas.
Tis secion explores he curren raining sysems in place a Sae and USAID,
he key oces wih responsibiliies or crisis prevenion, and why a larger
culural shi will be required i we wan he U.S. governmen o ge beter a
prevening crises.
Lack of conflict training for foreign officers
Early in heir careers, mos Foreign Service ocershose individuals charged
wih carrying ou he oreign policy o he Unied Saes and aiding U.S. cii-
zens abroada he Sae Deparmen will spend ar more hours learning boh
diplomaic proocol and how o screen visa applicans han hey will learning how
o aver a crisis or conic a heir pos. According o some, mos young Foreign
Service ocers may seek more insrucion on proper able eiquetebecausehey perceive ha such skills are a pah o advancemenhan honing heir abili-
ies o engage in successul mediaion, negoiaion, or idenicaion o poliical
aul lines wihin a sociey.
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On he whole, he diplomaic corps remains remarkably poor a analyzing and
undersanding risk simply because i is given so litle raining in his regard. Tere
is currenly no sandard cericaion or deermining who is a rained conic
prevenion proessional wihin he U.S. governmen.
Tis is even more remarkable since he U.S. governmen is dealing wih a serieso susained crises on he ground. A large percenage o USAID and Sae o-
cials have now done roaions hrough Aghanisan, Pakisan, and Iraq over he
las decade because o he policy prioriy assigned o hem by boh he Bush and
Obama adminisraions. In hese setings, ocers gained considerable exposure
o conic and posconic programming on a large scale. Ye hese same se-
ings made obvious how litle raining senior ocials a Sae and USAID have
in conic prevenion.
Ocers headed or Sudan, Pakisan, Iraq, and Aghanisan do ge some special
raining o work in hese specic environmens, bu i is sill lacking and has onlyrecenly become somewha regularized.
Mos Sae and USAID ocers headed or Aghanisan, or example, receive
our o ve weeks o specialized raining, wih a good porion o his ocused on
deensive driving and personal securiy. Given he complexiy o he siuaion
in Aghanisan, i is dicul o imagine how such raining would suce in giv-
ing hem he educaional grounding and skill ses hey need o succeed in such a
harrowing environmen. Te litle raining oered has oen relied on clichd and
oversimplied vignetes raher han rigorous analysis.
By conras, during he Vienam conic, USAID ocers received several monhs
o raining in addiional o language raining in preparaion or a our o duy.
In shor, no conic prevenion rainings are mandaory or he civilian oreign
aairs agencies in he U.S. governmenonly securiy and Aghanisan-specic
rainings are. As one rusraed rainer complained, Te basic gap is ha here is no
raining or conic prevenion in he U.S. Governmen. While his is an oversae-
men born o exasperaion, conic prevenion raining remains sarkly minimal.
(We provide a more deailed exploraion o raining and how i leaves ou conic
prevenion insrucion in he Civil-miliary raining divide secion o his repor.)
On the whole,
the diplomatic
corps remains
remarkably poor
at analyzing and
understanding ri
simply because
it is given so little
training in this
regard.
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Recent changes at government offices that handle conflict
prevention arent enough
The Conflict and Stabilization Operations Bureau
Diplomas began o realize in he aermah o Iraq and Aghanisan ha he U.S.
governmen needed a more robus capaciy o preven crises and manage growing
sabilizaion operaions in counries emerging rom srie.
Acknowledging his new realiy, Congress auhorized he creaion o he Sae
Deparmens Oce o he Coordinaor or Reconsrucion and Sabilizaion in
2004. Te oces mission was, o lead, coordinae and insiuionalize U.S. govern-
men civilian capaciy o preven or prepare or posconic siuaions, and o help
sabilize and reconsruc socieies in ransiion rom conic or civil srie12
Te QDDR, released in 2010, placed a large emphasis on he oce. I urned
i ino he Conic and Sabilizaion Operaions Bureau, which will emphasize
prevenion bu add some raining eors.
Te shi o a ull-edged bureau is sill ongoing, and his reorganizaion will bring
a Senae-conrmed assisan secreary o he helm o he bureau while also help-
ing o reocus prioriies and capabiliies. Ineviably, he change will also help raise
he prole o he bureau as i indicaes a reprioriizaion o he Sae Deparmens
abiliies o developmen and address crises, conics, and sabiliy issues.
Te Civilian Response Corps is a key par o he Conic and Sabilizaion
Operaions Bureau. Te corps serves as a sand-by pool o employees rom nine
dieren U.S. governmen agencies ha are specially rained and equipped o
deploy rapidly o provide conic prevenion and sabilizaion assisance o
counries in crisis or emerging rom conic.13 Civilian Response Corps mem-
bers have been previously deployed o Uganda, Cenral Arican Republic, Chad,
he Democraic Republic o he Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Kosovo, Haii, Yemen,
Aghanisan, Pakisan, he Kyrgz Republic, and Sri Lanka.
Te Response Corps consiss o hree secions: acive, sandby, and reserve. Tese
iles indicae heir relaive readiness and are no a uncional division o labor.
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In he rs year o acive membership in he Response Corps, members are required
o ake eigh weeks oal o raining, including a basic raining course. Tis basic wo-
week course, Foundaions in Conic Prevenion and Response, is augh a he
Foreign Service Insiue. Acive members also ake he hree-week long course on
whole o governmen planning or reconsrucion and sabilizaion, which covers
inegraed assessmen and planning or sabilizaion and response operaions. Telas course hey are required o ake is he inensive hree-week Securiy or Non-
radiional Operaing Environmens, which is largely ocused on personal securiy.
In his course, individuals are augh evasive driving echniques, educaed on mine
awareness, amiliarized wih rearms, and given oher basic skills o help prepare
hem or living in highly hazardous environmens.
In year wo o acive membership, members are required o ake more raining
ha hey mus nd elsewhere, and members are given a air amoun o laiude
in selecing relevan addiional coursework rom he U.S. Insiue o Peace, he
Foreign Service Insiue, or elsewhere.
Sandby members are required o ake he same hree courses as acive members
excep on a dieren schedule. In heir rs year, sandby Response Corps mem-
bers are required o ake he wo-week long basic raining course a he Foreign
Service Insiue (he oundaions course described above), aer which hey can
be called upon o deploy. Pre-deploymen, sandby members are supposed o
(bu no are always able) o ake he securiy or nonradiional operaing environ-
mens course as well as any counry-specic raining.
Te Sae Deparmen originally required an eigh-week-long basic raining course
or all Response Corps members (acive and sandby), bu ha was signicanly
reduced due o operaional and budgeary concerns.
U.S. governmen ocials who spoke wih he auhors noed ha he wo-week,
basic-raining course is insucien. In order or members o be genuinely pre-
pared or he challenging environmens ha hey are asked o ener he course
lengh should be a leas eigh weeks. Noably, here are virually no mid-level
courses oered or Response Corps members seeking o gain deeper experise
in a paricular area or jus looking o enhance and srenghen heir skills.
Te QDDR makes a number o recommendaions o dramaically increase and
empower he sandby componen o he Civilian Response Corps. Some o hese
include increasing he number o paricipaory governmen agencies (hough he
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QDDR did no ideniy such agencies by name); expanding sandby membership
o include Foreign Service naionals, ederal reirees, and Peace Corps voluneers;
and increasing incenives and exibiliy or ederal employees o paricipae.
While he creaion o he Conic and Sabilizaion Operaions Bureau and he
Civilian Response Corps are good seps, in many ways hey ake he weigh oo all he oher bureaus a he Sae Deparmen o address conic prevenion
concerns by assigning conic prevenion o a specic bureau. Tis is paricu-
larly rue or he regional bureaus wih he greaes say in seting policy on he
ground in specic counries in conic or a r isk o enering ino conic. I he
Conic and Sabilizaion Operaions Bureau is o be genuinely eecive i will
need o oser beter, and more inerconneced, relaionships wih each regional
and uncional bureau.
Bu he idea ha a Washingon-based ocewhich only recenly became a ull-
edged bureauis supposed o coordinae he ineragency response o conicsby dispaching a eam o a counry in order o analyze a conic, prescribe solu-
ions, and make is voice heard a a sucienly senior level has no meshed well
wih operaional realiy.
Te Oce o he Coordinaor or Reconsrucion and Sabilizaions perormance
beore i was ransormed ino he Conic and Sabilizaion Operaions Bureau
underscores ha poin. Despie some successes in he eld i is dicul o cie a
crisis or conic where he oce was ruly he lead in response.
Furher, Capiol Hills suppor or he Oce o he Coordinaor or
Reconsrucion and Sabilizaion was epid a bes, and Congress requenly cus
unding or ha oce well below he presidens budge reques.
Equally worrisome was a endency o sa his oce wih a hodge-podge o
ocers drawn rom oher assignmens or hired on shor-erm conracs, wihou
necessarily having senior-level, conic-prevenion experise.
Reversing hese rends will be a key challenge or he head o he new Conic and
Sabilizaion Operaions Bureau once a nominee is conrmed.
A similar dynamic, hough less severe, is playing ou a USAID, where oces
wih specic roles in conic prevenionincluding he Conic Managemen
and Miigaion oce and he Oce o ransiion Iniiaivesoen operae
Doing confict
prevention on
the cheap, and
with the wrong
skills, is a recipe
or disaster.
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a he periphery o core decisions abou developmen prioriies made in he
respecive regional bureaus.
Tis is no o argue ha hese specialized oces should no exis. Tere are cerainly
core pars o crisis prevenion ha demand highly specialized opical experise. Te
QDDR isel argued ha he crises and conics associaed wih sae weakness andinsabiliy are some o he hornies problems Sae and USAID ace:
Such conicts have rarely been simple, but today they are dened by their
complexity. Tey oen involve multiple actions within states and are driven by
a mix o religious, ethnic, ideological, political, economic, and geographic actors.
Tey are ignited or sustained by the actions o governments, insurgent groups,
criminal organizations, and terrorist networks. Increasingly, we see the eects o
climate change, urbanization, growing youth populations, ood insecurity, and
natural disasters providing a spark to long-simmering grievances. International
experts in conict prevention and response use terms like complex politicalemergencies and complex peace operations to describe their eld.14
Te QDDR chaper on conic prevenion ocuses overwhelmingly on insiu-
ional soluions and he creaion o specialized oces much more han shiing
he overall insiuional ehos. In he QDDR, conic prevenion, as a mission, is
largely assigned o he Sae Deparmens newly creaed undersecreary or civil-
ian securiy, democracy and human righs, who oversees he Bureau o Conic
and Sabilizaion Operaions and a number o oher oces.
Bu despie a newly redrawn organizaional char a he Sae Deparmen, he
challenge o making Sae and USAID beter a crisis prevenion remains. Tas
because wihou a shi in insiuional ehos, specialized bureaus can reinorce
he endency o boh insiuions o relegae crisis prevenion o he periphery
raher han making i a cenralized skill-se required or all diplomas.
An institutional shift is necessary
o couner his problem, Sae and USAID need o updae heir undersandingo he criical ools needed or diplomacy and developmen. Given he evolving
naure o odays world, smar oreign policy requires a beter undersanding o
conic prevenion, miigaion, and response. Te core pillars o our diplomaic
eors are hisorically rooed in poliics, economics, adminisraion, and consular
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issues, bu hose are no longer sucien. As he QDDR makes clear, we need o
broaden our lens and deepen our undersanding o his seismic shi.
Clearly, boh Sae and USAID need highly proessional cadres o individuals who
make conic prevenion and response heir vocaion and work on he ground
in muliple complex emergencies. I anyhing, he oces a Sae and USAIDengaged in conic prevenion deserve greaer resources and more senior sang.
Bu or crisis prevenion o gain racion a Sae and USAID he specic skills
required o preven and respond o crises need o be mainsreamed ino raining
and educaion a he broades level across boh insiuions. Scaling up proes-
sional developmen opporuniies is vial o ensure 21s cenury diplomas have
he skills and ools hey need. Knowledge o conic analysis and prevenion
raining have o be widely embedded wihin he ool kis o all ocers a Sae and
USAID and inculcaed as a value rom he earlies sages i he spiri o he QDDR
and oher reviews are o become realized.
Tis would mean ha every Foreign Service ocer should be amiliar wih basic
preceps in conic prevenion as hey discuss elecions wih local poliical paries.
Every developmen exper a USAID should be cognizan o how aid may iname
local ensions i crisis prevenion is no buil ino basic program design. Every
ambassador should beter undersand he many drivers ha radiionally push coun-
ries oward a civil war or regional conic. And all embassy sa should undersand
he essenial role developmen programming can play in helping counries rebuild
rom and move pas conic and he pracical seps used o inuence a beter course.
Insead, we operae in a sysem where small, no paricularly inuenial oces
are called upon only aer i is abundanly apparen ha a counry is headed deep
ino a conic, and he recommendaions rom hese oces are hen passed on o
people who are ill-equipped o inerpre or use hem.
Te primary uncion o he respecive conic prevenion oces a Sae and
USAID should be providing early warning o policymakers abou conic while
aciliaing conversaions among diverse sakeholders and oering highly echnical
experise when neededno direcing all conic prevenion.
And conic prevenion a Sae needs o be embraced rom he very op down,
no oered as some modes inusion o botom-up insigh or experise. I ambassa-
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dors and depuy chies o missions are no adequaely rained in crisis prevenion,
i is dicul o see how hey can guide U.S. policy a momens o grea crisis.
Finally, o be as eecive as possible, boh agencies need o work ou heir long-
sanding ur batles. Te QDDR assered ha he Sae Deparmen would lead
on all poliical crises and conics, while USAID would lead on all naural disas-ers.15 Tis division, however, seems arbirary since i doesn adequaely reec
he hisoric role USAID has played on crises response or he consrucive role o
operaional response oces such as USAIDs Oce or ransiional Iniiaives.
Since he QDDR was issued, Sae and USAID have largely negoiaed who would
be given he lead on any paricular conic or crisis on an ad hoc basis. Tis does
no seem o be a recipe or eecive managemen over he long erm.
Robus diplomaic and developmen skills, as well as sucien resources, are
needed i he Unied Saes is o play a lead role in conic prevenion arena.Doing conic prevenion on he cheap, and wih he wrong skills, is a recipe or
disaser ha can be avoided i a realisic plan or addressing hese ineragency di-
erences can be addressed.
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The civil-military training divide
Differences in training and promotion
Criical o a discussion o conic prevenion raining a Sae and USAID is a clear
undersanding o he sharp dierence in raining beween he U.S. miliary and is
civilian counerpars. Te U.S. miliary akes raining very seriously and uilizes i
well. A Sae and USAID, raining remains an underunded aerhough.
Tis secion makes he poin ha expanding conic prevenion raining a heseoces will require major changes in heir raining habis, which no only pu very
litle ocus on conic raining bu orego oher ypes o essenial raining as well.
Te miliary oers useul examples o how hey can improve. Te blame, however,
can be placed enirely a he agencies ee because he dierences in raining can
also be raced back o dierences in unding and human resources beween he
miliary and civilian oreign aairs agencies.
Te las 10 years are somehing o an aberraion wih repeaed up-empo deploy-
mens. Bu he U.S. miliary has always viewed raining as undamenal o how
i grooms new enrans and prepares hem or advancemen. In sark conras o
civilian oreign aairs agencies, he miliary goes o grea lenghs o nurure he
skills needed or ocers o assume progressively larger and more imporan duies
and commands as heir careers progress.
Former Secreary o Sae Colin Powell was ond o noing he miliarys penchan
or raining by observing ha 6 ou o his 30 years in he miliary were spen in he
classroom.16 Te average Foreign Service ocer is lucky o spend six monhs o a
30-year career in raining.
The average
Foreign Service
ocer is lucky to
spend six mont
o a 30-year care
in training.
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Recruitment
One o he rs obvious dierences beween he miliary and civilian oreign
aairs agencies is in he recruimen process isel. Te U.S. miliary has always
reasoned ha new enrans would need considerable raining. Regardless o previ-
ous experience or background, new members o he U.S. miliary are given exen-sive rainingo inculcae shared values, o guaranee ha all members o he
orce share cerain basic skills, and o provide more specic raining in designaed
areas o experise unique o heir service or responsibiliies.
Te raining programs or each branch o he miliary include he basic raining
oered by each branch as well as opions such as Reserve Ocers raining Corps,
Ocers Candidae School, and he courses oered hrough numerous academic
insiuions such as Wes Poin, he Naval Academy, and he Air Force Academy.
In sharp conras, he civilian inernaional aairs agencies make a consisen assump-ion ha new employees walk in wih an appropriae educaional background and new
employees, as smar generaliss, will be able o pick up and learn heir duies.
I is requenly rue ha civilian inernaional aairs agency ocers are beter
educaed han miliary recruis. Bu as one beleaguered rainer commened, he
assumpion ha an undergraduae or masers degree adequaely prepares a new
employee o preven crises in dicul inernaional setings is jus silly.
In essence, he raining and educaion screen or he civilian agencies is a he
personnel hiring sage raher han once employees are brough onboard. In many
ways, his approach is a vesige o an earlier era when he Foreign Service was
deliberaely populaed wih he bes and he brighes rom Eas Coas universi-
ies. Such recruis were seenby din o heir educaion and more cosmopolian
upbringingso be beter suied o serve as diplomas in ar-ung poss.
Ye such an approach is badly oudaed given he demands on he oreign and civil
services in odays world. And he Foreign Services culure, where ocers are
assumed o be an exper raher han rained o be so, makes i dicul or many
ocers o acknowledge he limis o heir knowledge or o openly ask or assis-ance rom expers in conic prevenion.
odays global rends o rapid populaion growh, climae variabiliy, urbanizaion,
uneasy democraizaion, and growing energy compeiion (and conic) make his
approach o alen managemen anachronisic and inimical o our naional ineres.
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Training
As one miliary rainer amiliar wih he civilian agencies observed, new employ-
ees ge almos no raining across he board.
Te iniial raining given o ocials a Sae and USAID includes no mandaorycourse work in crisis prevenion, and he overall raining is remarkably cursory
in imporan respecs. Te mandaory six-week ull-ime A100 course or new
Foreign Service ocers is ocused heavily on basic adminisraive deails, han-
dling o classied inormaion, and he uncioning o he Foreign Service isel.
Mos A100 classes spend only several hours giving Sae Deparmen ocers an
even basic undersanding o he role o USAIDmuch less he underpinnings o
eecive crisis prevenion or developmen more broadly.
Such a gap is all he more sriking given ha Sae coninues o assume progres-
sively greaer responsibiliy or managing crisis prevenion and developmen, andhe QDDR appoined Sae he lead in any siuaions relaed o complex emergen-
ciesperhaps he mos dicul porolio relaed o crisis prevenion.
A100 sudens go on o oreign area and language sudies relaed o heir specic
assignmens, which remain he bread and buter o he Foreign Service Insiues
overall approach. Tese are useul and imporan skills, bu hey are no subsiue
or a broader underpinning o pracical raining and skills ha hey will need
hroughou heir careers in diplomacy generally and conic prevenion more
specically. Te baseline assumpion remains ha hese young Foreign Service
ocers will learn hese skills along he way.
Useul courses or all incoming Foreign Service ocers could include ideni ying
drivers and causes o conic; conic analysis and early response developmen;
negoiaions and mediaions skills developmen; conic-sensiive approaches o
developmen; and principles o good governance. Courses oered o mid-level
ocers could include inernaional humaniarian law, peacekeeping and inerna-
ional conic resoluion, and civil-miliary coordinaion.
Te siuaion a USAID is equally sark. A new employee in he agencys Oceo ransiion Iniiaives, one o he lead oces dealing wih crisis prevenion and
posconic response, usually receives abou a ull week o raining, wih a leas
hal o ha ime cenering on adminisraive issues.
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Te Developmen Leadership Iniiaive is probably he closes USAID comes o
a proessional developmen model. Te iniiaive was launched in 2008 wih con-
gressional suppor as a muliple-year eor designed o double USAIDs Foreign
Service workorce by 2012. Ye raining hrough his iniiaive is largely argeed a
junior-level ocers. (Some mid-career recruis have also been brough in as par
o he iniiaive.)
Because so many o USAIDs employees ocus on a specic secor or area o aciv-
iy, raining on imporan cross-cuting issues such as crisis prevenion is largely
an aerhough. Even ocers a USAID who specialize in democracy and gover-
nance, healh, or agriculure sill need a basic grounding in do-no-harm, conicanalysis, and conic prevenion, and his should be a undamenal par o how
USAID does is work.
While he agency and is Conic Managemen and Miigaion oce has devel-
oped a number o innovaive courses in conic prevenion and early warningas
While there have been a number o well-received conict
prevention trainings by and or U.S. government ofcials,
they are too ew in number and insufciently available to
all interested oreign aairs ofcials.
Nonetheless, a general review suggests some o those
areas o training that would be most benecial or State
and USAID ofcers regardless o whether or not they are
deemed conict specialists or not, including how to:
Locate and understand conict drivers and sensitivities
such as economic disparity, ethnic tensions, or
competition or resource
Undertake a basic conict prevention diagnosis
(including or political transitions, boundary disputes,
religious/sectarian conicts)
Spearhead conict-sensitive development and
reconstruction programs that place projects within
a broader ramework o understanding o social and
political dynamics
Plan or conict prevention and response
Exercise crisis decision making and approach a situation
through a collaborative interagency process that
includes State, USAID, and the Department o Deense
(including determining which agency is in the lead)
Work closely with civil society
Work with and appropriately engage the military
Certainly the trainings oered to U.S. government ofcials
will require constant monitoring and evaluation to
determine what actually works on the ground. But given
the overarching absence o broad-based training in this
area, oering expanded courses that enable the creation
o a common baseline among all Foreign Service ofcerssuch as the Foreign Service Institutes Foundations o
Conict Prevention and Response course (see the Recent
changes at government ofces that handle conict
prevention arent enough section under The need or
crisis prevention and training at State and USAID) would
go a long way to mainstreaming the issue.
Key areas for conflict prevention training
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has he Sae Deparmens Bureau o Conic and Sabilizaion Operaionsrela-ively ew ocers end up aking hese courses because such raining is no seen as
an essenial duy, and he courses are oen limied o hose individuals designaed
o he mos war-orn o locales. USAIDs Conic Managemen and Miigaion
oce currenly runs abou eigh courses a year wih roughly 25 sudens per class,
mos o whom are rom USAID.
Promotion
Te U.S. miliary, in addiion o placing much greaer emphasis on inducion and
pre-commission raining or is new employees, is very deliberae in ensuring ha
as ocers move orward wih heir careers hey sep ou o daily acion duy o
paricipae in exended raining a roughly he 3-, 5-, 10-, and 20-year marks.
A hese juncures, ocers are given he appropriae raining o adequaely pre-
pare hem o lead larger and more complex orces and operaions. In he 20h year,
senior ocers atend insiuions such as he Naval War College or are sen o For
McNair or heir CAPSONE rainingjoin-service proessional miliary educa-
ion courses or newly promoed brigadier generals and rear admirals.
Mos miliary ocers see raining as undamenal o heir career advancemen,
and in ac excelling a mid- and senior-career raining is essenial o rise o he
highes ranks o he U.S. armed orces.
With a clear need or increased proessional development on crisis prevention, a number o
reputable nongovernmental organizations have stepped in to ill the gap. These organiza-
tionsincluding Human Rights First, the Raphael Lemkin Center, and the Mass Atrocity
Response Operations Project at Harvard Kennedy Schoolgenerally oer training courses and
simulations that range rom a daylong seminar to a ull week.
The organizations bring together policy practitioners, military ofcers, renowned academics, and NGO
advocates to analyze and discuss crisis prevention rom a range o perspectives. The goal o these
orums is to oster a community o practitioners who can act on crisis situations when they arise.
Ironically, many o these sessions are aimed at members o the U.S. militarymainly because State and
USAID are oten unable to provide sufciently senior participants because o overall resource shortages.
Civil society fills the conflict-training gap
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Te conras wih he civilian agencies is alarming. A boh Sae and USAID
here is litle cenralized mandaory mid- and senior-level career raining, and
none in conic prevenion.
Indeed, boh Sae and USAID are remarkable anomalies. I is rare or any proes-
sional discipline o have such a complee lack o a proessional developmenmodel in odays world.
Consider, or example, he ongoing proessional developmen o medical proes-
sionals, who are required o ake proessional developmen courses on an annual
basis o say up o dae in heir paricular eld. Coninuing medical educaion
credisa cerain number o which are required in order o say board ceried
help docors learn abou new research and echnological advancemens.
As opposed o he miliary, mos Sae and USAID employees do no see a direc
incenive in being beter rained because such raining is no direcly linked oheir likelihood o promoion.
In ac, jus he opposie is more oen rue. Civil servans and Foreign Service o-
cers are oen relucan o ake raining because hey worry heir bosses will see i
as aking away rom heir core responsibiliies and/or hey would be absen rom
pos. Tis nding was reeced in a January 2011 Governmen Accouning Oce
repor on raining a he Sae Deparmen.17
Limied human resources oen make i challenging or any mission or embassy
o eel ha hey can lose any personnel o raining. Foreign Service Boards, which
deermine promoions, are rigorous. Bu employee evaluaions, compleed by a
supervisor, are he overwhelming deerminan o success or a candidae in ron
o hese boards and no heir relaive raining.
So i a supervisor balks a an opporuniy or proessional developmen i acually
oers incenive no o paricipae. Supervisors a boh Sae and USAID have a
requenly recognized endency o send ocers hey can spare o raining raher
han he mos promising or compeen ocers under heir command.
Te botom line is ha litle is likely o change as long as proessional develop-
menand paricularly prioriizaion o conic prevenionplays no par in
promoion, salary, or roaion deerminaions or Sae and USAID. In addiion,
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Source: Credit the Center or Global Development; http://www.cgdev.org/sectionassistance/budget.
he Foreign Service model or reviews ends o creae an environmen where ak-
ing minimal risks and atering superiors is he sures pah o advancemen.
Te same Governmen Accouning Oce repor cied above also noed:
Alhough Sae has several pracices in place o ideni y raining needs, he
deparmen lacks a sysemaic, comprehensive raining needs assessmen processclearly incorporaing all bureaus and poss, paricularly a he occupaional and
individual levels. 18
Differences in capacity and operations
While i is easy o see ha he culure o raining is vasly dieren beween he
U.S. miliary and he civilian inernaional aairs agencies, i is imporan o
undersand he undamenal operaional realiies ha uel hese divisions.
Firs and oremos, he Penagon has adequae numbers
o personnel and sucien operaing unds (he so-called
raining oa) ha i can aord o make compulsory
raining a core componen o is approach o personnel.
I can also oer volunary raining ha sa ocers are
encouraged o ake in order o develop heir skills
wheher in specic areas or in personnel managemen.
Te graph shows jus how much more in resources
he Penagon ges hrough he ederal budge han
inernaional aairs.
Te miliary is able o creae space or raining hrough is
ransien, rainee, Holdee, and Suden designaion. Tis
allows he miliary o mainain sang levels a a signi-
can percenage over hose designaed o is specic poss
because o he numbers o soldiers a any ime ha are in
ransi, raining, a hospial, or school. I raining is longer
han several weeks, ocers are assigned o he rainingposwhich allows heir command o have anoher
ocer ll heir posiion. Tis allows he miliary o have is
ocers engage in lenghy rainings beween major assign-
mens wihou leaving oher poss shor-saed.
Figure 2
A major reason why the military can affo
more training than foreign affairs agenc
Federal budget composition, iscal year 2010
1.5%
83.6%
International affairs Defense Other
14.9%
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Te civilian agencies do no have comparable mechanisms. Tey ace much more
o a zero-sum game where raining oen comes a he expense o an embassy or
USAID mission. And i creaes a dynamic where raining courses a Sae and
USAID oen end up being laughably shor or he complexiy o he issues hey
addressall because managers eel hey canno aord o le someone leave heir
pos or oo long.
Congress had agreed a he beginning o he Bush adminisraion o creae such
headroom hrough he Diplomaic Readiness Iniiaive, an adminisraion eor
o address shoralls in boh he oal numbers o diplomaic sa and heir respec-
ive skills, bu he addiional personnel were consumed in he eor o sa up he
U.S. presence in Iraq and Aghanisan. Te execuive and legislaive branches should
reurn o his bargain immediaely.
As one genocide prevenion rainer observed, I is hard or people rom Sae o
carve ou wo weeks or raining unless he order comes rom on high, and i hasn.
Congress rarely quesions he miliarys need or resources o keep is orce rained
and ready. Te relevan commitees are generally supporive o and rouinely
deending he Deense Deparmens iniiaives. A he same ime, Congress
consisenly underunds operaing expenses a Sae and USAID ha would allow
hese insiuions o mainain a beter-rained and more capable core o proes-
sionals. Te relevan commitees oen ake a criical approach o hese agencies
policy and unding iniiaives.
In general, congressional deense commitees see heir role as supporing he
Penagon, whereas he oreign aairs congressional commitees view heir role
more as oversigh and criique.
Even recen dra proposals rom Congress o scale up raining don ocus on
providing crisis prevenion raining or all Sae Deparmen employees. Insead
he language akes a more myopic view and prioriizes
Foreign Service ofcers assigned to a position, department or agency or at a
post overseas with responsibilitiesin countries or regions that are at risk o, in,or are in transition om conict or civil strie.19
No corresponding language in any appropriaion bill helps resource hese already
underunded areas.
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Tis rend is radiionally mos egregious a USAID. Congress consisenly
reduces or keeps a he agencys operaing expenses even during periods when
is programmaic responsibiliies and unding have risen, paricularly over he
las decade. Operaing expenses are oen he rs choice or congressional cus a
USAID, no a las resor.
Such an approach is pennywise and pound oolish. I beter-rained ocers a
Sae and USAID were able o eecively preven a handul o crises or speed heir
resoluion he cos savings would be enormous.
Obviously he absence o personnel overhead a Sae and USAID makes i hard o
do adequae raining on any issue, including crisis prevenion. Sa is so slim, and
he lack o inducion raining is so severe, ha mos Sae and USAID personnel rise
hrough heir careers ocused on he immediae ask a hand wihou ever experienc-
ing he broader operaional and concepual raining ha could help hem excel.
Indeed, a Foreign Service ocer could rise o be an ambassador in a counry a
risk o major conic wih no ormal raining in developmen, early warning, eec-
ive ways o resolving elecoral or ehnic violence, or advanced mediaion ech-
niques. Indeed, many dedicaed and well-meaning Foreign Service ocers were
conrmed or such poss in recen years.
Sae and USAID boh badly need more proessional developmen opporuni-
ies. Leadership in boh insiuions needs o make clear ha raining, educaion,
and career developmen are core culural values ha underpin heir agencys
eeciveness. raining mus incorporae languages and culural dierences rom
he very beginning, bu we also need o couple his knowledge wih ha o crisis
prevenion and posconic work. And developing pracical road maps o address
he underlying operaional and budge obsacles o beter raining is essenial and
mus be considered during upcoming budge batles.
Te QDDR recognized he dieren raining playing eld beween Sae and
USAID and he U.S. miliary:
Building training into career tracks requires increased resources and high-levelcommitment to ensure employees have the time to pursue periodic and long-
term training. For our personnel to be successul, they must have the space, the
time, and the incentives to make training a critical part o their careers. Te U.S.
militarys approach to training and continuing education recognizes and reects
this act. State and USAIDs approach must do the same20
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Recognizing he raining dierences beween he miliary and civilian agencies is
necessary, bu i isn sucien. Having he Foreign Service Insiue develop pro-
posals is one hinginvesing he poliical capial o he secreary o sae, USAID
adminisraor, and oher senior adminisraion ocials in working collaboraively
wih Congress o push hese long overdue changes hrough is somehing else
enirely. Litle evidence suggess he adminisraion is willing o make he kind oconcered push required o level he raining playing eld.
As ormer Naional Securiy Adviser Bren Scowcro recenly noed, On-he-
job raining alone is no longer a sucien mehod, i i ever was, o develop a U.S.
diplomaic service ha is second o none.21
Scowcro argued ha he eeciveness o he U.S. diplomaic corps, like ha o
heir miliary counerpars, should res on a sysemaic regime o educaion, raining,
and proessional preparaionone ha is linked o heir career advancemen.
Ta sysemaic regime o educaion and raining simply does no exis when i
comes o our civilian oreign policy insiuions, and changes around he margins
will no make ha happen.
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Competing conflict assessment tools
Few would argue agains he U.S. governmen developing a common ool o assess
poenial conics and crises in key counries. Ye eors oward ha end are
slowed a imes by ineragency and ineroce rivalries and a ailure o collaborae.
Te resul has been a sysem where no only are mos employees no well rained
in conic prevenion, dieren oces and agencies coninue o approach how
each poenial conic is assessed hrough very dieren lenses.
In many ways, he Ineragency Conic Assessmen ramework, or ICAF, isdesigned o be he common ool or conic assessmen wihin he governmen.
Te Sae Deparmen describes he ICAF as a ramework ha can be used o
help people rom dieren U.S. governmen deparmens and agencies work
ogeher o reach a shared undersanding o a counry s conic dynamics and
consensus on poenial enry poins or addiional U.S. governmen eors.22
Te Sae Deparmen also noes, An ICAF allows an ineragency eam o iden-
iy poenial enry poins or uure U.S. governmen eors in conic preven-
ion and conic ransormaion, bu i does no make direc recommendaions
or program design.23
Te problem is ha he ICAF has no consisenly achieved is goal o nururing
a shared view o conic dynamics across agencies, hough some ocials main-
ain ha signican progress was made in recen years.
Dieren agencies, including he U.S. miliary, coninue o use heir rival conic
assessmen ools in wha has become a airly sove-piped process because hey
do no eel ully vesed in he ICAF model. Some complain ha he ICAF has
become an excessively complex, almos heological insrumen, and ha mem-bers o he Sae Deparmens Bureau o Conic and Sabilizaion Operaions
rea he ICAF as somehing ha only he mos highly rained expers could
undersand or apply.
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Tis mechanisic approach only serves o preven he ICAF rom gaining broader
racion across agencies insead o providing a sysem ha could be more widely
used, applied, and undersood. A small oce a he Sae Deparmens insis-
ence ha is analyical ool, and only is analyical ool, be applied across he
Deparmen o Deense and USAID as well as hroughou he res o he Sae
Deparmen only ensures he ICAFs marginalizaion.
In realiy, he U.S. governmen mainains muliple conic assessmen rame-
works, and mos ocials coninue o see he idea o having one widely used
conic assessmen ramework as unlikely.
Tis goes o he broader poin: Te abiliy o analyze, preven, and resolve conics
should be widely sharedno held as some secre language among a selec ew.
Tere are some imporan modes seps in ha direcion. Te Bureau o Conic
and Sabilizaion Operaions, he Oce o Conic Managemen and Miigaion a
USAID, he independen U.S. Insiue o Peace, and he Foreign Service Insiuealready provide some useul coursework and raining on conic prevenion.
Te Oce o Conic Managemen and Miigaion rainings appear well designed
and well received, and i is noeworhy ha much o his raining has relied on in-
house experise raher han ouside conracors. Ineres is growing in he course,
and i is oen oversubscribed. Te Oce o Conic Managemen and Miigaion
sa noes hey are being asked o oer more coursesincluding o U.S. govern-
men ocials working overseas.
Having junior and mid-level sa rained by senior managers abou real siua-
ions hey are likely o ace in he eld is o obvious bene, and he Oce o
Conic Managemen and Miigaion course adops some o he beter lessons
rom he miliary side o he governmen. Similarly, he popular U.S. Insiue
o Peace course on prevening elecoral violence seems o nd he righ balance
beween heoreical underpinnings and pracical applicaion or many Foreign
Service ocers.
All hese eniies are looking a how hey can reach more sudens wih heir
classes. Despie heir high qualiy, however, relaively ew Sae and USAIDemployees go hrough hem. Tis should come as no surprise, hough. As we
poined ou in he previous secion, wihou a signican inusion o resources or
direcion rom senior managemen ha such courses be made mandaory, only
a handul o employees a Sae and USAID will bene rom his insrucion,
including very, very ew employees a mid- or senior-career levels.
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Meanwhile, he enire Oce o Conic Managemen and Miigaion sa is only
abou 20 people. So here are clearly limis on he sheer numbers o people he oce
can rain, paricularly given ha raining is no is only mandae. Because o ime and
budge pressures, he inroducory course by he Bureau o Conic and Sabilizaion
Operaions on conic prevenion was reduced rom eigh weeks o wo.
In general, no well-packaged and accredied suie o conic prevenion courses
bundles ogeher he dieren oerings ino a coheren core o raining or an
up-and-coming conic prevenion exper in he U.S. governmen. A simple
online locaion wih all conic prevenion courses oered by governmen
agencies and U.S. Insiue o Peace lised or a cross posing o all courses on he
various sies would a leas ackle he lack o awareness by governmen employ-
ees o oher courses.
Tere are also several problems wih curren raining hrough all hese avenues.
Firs, i is imporan o noe ha much, bu cerainly no all, o he conic rain-
ing expansion in recen years a boh Sae and USAID has ocused paricularly on
sae-building given he experiences o Aghanisan and Iraq. Bu such major U.S.-
dominaed sae-building exercises will likely be somehing o a hisorical anom-
aly. Much more emphasis needs o be placed on helping preven crises beore hey
reach an acue sage.
Second, here needs o be ar more growh and proessional developmen in he
classic ools in his arena: eecive mediaion, conic analysis, and early warning.
And hird, here could be ar greaer coherence in approach across agencies
here is no reason why he miliary and civilian agencies could no develop a much
more unied approach o raining in conic prevenion han we have seen o dae.
Criical o he success o a unied approach would be ensuring genuine leadership
rom he civilian agencies and no miliary dominance, which would only perpeu-
ae he exising imbalance.
As radiional hubs or raining o he Foreign Service and he U.S. miliary
respecively, he Foreign Service Insiue and he Naional Deense Universiycould play a real leadership role in his regard. Bu again, hey would only be able
o exercise his leadership i direced o do so rom senior-mos levels.
Te Foreign Service Insiue does oer a basic course ha we menioned earlier,
Foundaions o Conic Prevenion and Response, a wo-week program more
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appropriae o pre-conic engagemen han a posconic engagemen course
augh by experienced ormer Sae and USAID ocials.
Like some o he oher course work cied here, his is a useul bu ar rom su-
cien eor o properly rain ocers headed or he eld. Tis course is mandaory
or members o he Civilian Response Corpsa sandby group o civilians drawnrom nine ederal agencies providing deployable experise in inernaional conic
prevenion and sabilizaionand sa o he Bureau o Conic and Sabilizaion
Operaions, bu no he Foreign Service more broadly.
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Recommendations
In sum, conic prevenion raining and assessmen ools coninue o be handled
in an episodic and ad hoc ashion. And hey lack broad sraegic inpu and direc-
ion rom Sae and USAID managemen. Almos all o he educaors involved in
raining Sae and USAID ocers agree ha broader conic prevenion raining
or sa a boh agencies would be enormously useul, and hey remain eager o
engage on ha ron. Ye again, litle will change wihou major changes in direc-
ion, sang, and resources.
Here we oer recommendaions or how Sae, USAID, and Congress can
improve crisis prevenion raining going orward:
State and USAID
Tie training, including in conlict prevention, directly to promotion at State
and USAID. Te QDDR noed, o ensure ha personnel are recognized and
rewarded or developing new skill ses, as resources permi, raining and deail
assignmens will be included in he Foreign Service Promoion Core Preceps,
and be considered in promoions.24 Bu wih he QDDR approaching is rs
anniversary since release i is unclear wha progress has been made in imple-
mening his recommendaion.
Cross list all U.S. government agencies and U.S. Institute o Peace, the U.S.
Holocaust Museum, the Center or Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies,
and the Auschwitz Institute o Peace and Reconciliation and other credible NGO
courses on confict prevention and make them available or all State and USAID
employees. Many ocials a Sae and USAID remain relaively unaware ohe range o courses currenly available, and an eor should be made o more
cenrally ideniy such career enhancemen opporuniies and widely disrib-
ue hem o sa.
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Require Foreign Service oicers to complete a year o advanced training
relevant to their speciic competency to be eligible or promotion to Senior
Foreign Service. Te pauciy o mid-career raining a Sae and USAID badly
undercus he abiliy o boh insiuions o groom uure senior leaders. Te
Deparmen o Deense sends heir bes and brighes o he Naional Deense
Universiy because hey see hem as uure leaders. Te lack o comparableraining in our civilian oreign policy insiuions is an embarrassmen. USAID
and Sae should dramaically expand he number o sudens hey send o he
Naional War College. Tis one-year program is viewed as he gold sandard or
he developmen o senior leadership, emphasizing sraegic hinking, leader-
ship, and ineragency cooperaion.
Create a new cone or career track called conlict prevention and analysis within
the State Department Foreign Service. Tere are ve career racks, or cones,
or Sae Deparmen Foreign Service generaliss:25 consular aairs, economic
aairs, managemen aairs, poliical aairs, and public diplomacy. Te creaiono a new cone on conic prevenion and analysis would guaranee sronger in-
house experise on conic prevenion, resoluion, and managemen over ime,
and make sure such experise ges embedded hroughou enry- and senior-level
Foreign Service ocers. Obviously here would be echnical deails o work ou
as o how he conic prevenion and analysis ocers would relae o oher o-
cers, paricularly hose handling poliical aairs. Bu his can be properly man-
aged, as could he discussions ha would need o ake place wih he American
Foreign Service Associaion.26 USAID does no have a cone sysem, bu one
where here are a variey o echnical backsops or specic areas o experise.
One o hose backsops is currenly crisis sabilizaion and governance, and all
members o ha backsop now receive USAIDs Oce o Conic Managemen
and Miigaions wo-day course. Oher backsops should receive a leas basic
raining in conic prevenion as i relaes o heir specializaions.
State Department
Give bid preerence or posings o hose in he Foreign Service who complee a ceri-
ed core curriculum in conic prevenion raining. Along he lines o more closelyconsidering raining when looking a promoions, Sae and USAID should oer
preerenial posing bids o ocers who complee a ceried core curriculum in con-
ic prevenion. Tis would mean ha ocers who ake conic prevenion raining
and serve in crisis-prone counries will be more likely o be saioned a a pos o heir
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choosing laer in heir careers. Such bid preerences were given o ocers who served
in Iraq and Aghanisan and can serve as a powerul incenive.
Make an A100 conlict prevention-training course mandatory or all incoming
Foreign Service oicers and provide or advanced training in person or remote
beore deployment to a conlict-prone country. Even i new ocers are in aconsular, economic, or poliical cone a basic A100 course on conic preven-
ion should be made mandaory. Tis would be a new course developed speci-
cally or his purpose. Similarly, beore deploymen o a conic-prone counry,
Foreign Service ocers should receive advanced raining on conic prevenion
eiher in he classroom or hrough disance learning opions.
Revert the Civilian Response Corps basic training course rom the current
two-week length back to the original eight weeks. A wo-week course is simply
insucien o address he myriad o issues ha a member could poenially
ace when in he eld. As members are only required o ake he class once, aneigh-week course can have a more long-erm impac han he curren wo-week
course. Tis is especially necessary as he Response Corps draws rom many
non-oreign-aairs agencies.
USAID
Require all USAID sta to take the Oice o Conlict Management and
Mitigations course Conlict Prevention 102 (C102) regardless o their backstop.
USAID is predominanly developmen ocused, bu all USAID sa and
conracors should be required o ake he C102 class o have a beter under-
sanding o conic drivers, concerns, and prevenion echniques. Given he
close links beween developmen and eecive conic prevenion, such ground-
ing would serve USAID ocers hroughou heir careers.
The administration and Congress more broadly
Establish the personnel headroom or capacity or civilian international aairsagencies to do better training. Te adminisraion and Congress should pro-
vide and susain addiional personnel posiions or raining equivalen o 15 per-
cen above he sa level required or regular assignmen. As a recen Simson
Cener repor, Forging a 21s Cenury Diplomaic Service or he Unied Saes
Even i new
ocers are in a
consular, econo
or political cone
a basic A100
course on conf
prevention
should be made
mandatory.
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Trough Proessional Educaion and raining, argued, his remains he single
mos imporan sep ha would pu he civilian agencies on more equal oo-
ing wih heir miliary counerpars and allow or susained, eecive raining
hroughou he career o ocers.27 Tis recommendaion will no happen,
however, unless i is embraced by senior leadership a Sae, USAID, and
he Whie House. And in odays budge crunch, i wil l also require ha headminisraion make clear wha aciviies i will cease or curail o help ree up
budge resources oward his end.
Synchronize the operating expenses o USAID with the program budget.
In general, USAID should have is operaing expenses pegged o is overall pro-
gram budge so ha he wo remain more eecively synchronized and sounder
long-erm planning is possible. Because USAIDs raining has radiionally been
drawn rom is operaing expenses, he endency o increase program unds
wihou concurren increase in operaing expenses has mean ha many core
personnel uncions, such as raining, have been badly underunded.
Congress should request a GAO report looking at USAIDs hiring patterns. Te
lack o an explici career rack and he absence o proessional developmen
opporuniies requires an overhaul o USAIDs hiring prioriies. A GAO repor
would presen an objecive invesigaion and analysis o how conic prevenion
could be embedded wihin any recommended hiring changes.
Review the Interagency Conlict Assessment tool to determine how it can be
improved, including a determination o how ICAFs conduct to date has been
used by policymakers. Te Naional Securiy Council should chair a review o
he ICAF and how i is currenly being employed. Te ulimae goal o his review
should be o produce a common sysem ha is used by Sae, he Deparmen o
Deense, and USAID, building upon he ICAFs srenghs while making he sys-
em more broadly usable by all hree insiuions. Ta will save boh money and
lives in he long run.
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Conclusion
As he Unied Saes coninues o grapple wih signican insabiliy around he
globein Libya, Somalia, Aghanisan, Iraq, Pakisan, and beyondour naions
unwillingness o inves in raining our oreign aairs personnel in conic preven-
ion remains as rusraing as i is bafing. Modes changes and modes inves-
mens ha would help shape a ar more knowledgeable and eecive work orce
ar beter able o ideniy, preven, and manage crises is undeniably in he naional
ineres. Such raining would beter serve he oreign aairs agencies, and i would
make i so our miliary personnel are less likely over ime o be deployed in direcconic. Ta will save boh lives and reasure in he long run.
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About the authors
John Norris is he Execuive Direcor o he Susainable Securiy and
Peacebuilding Iniiaive a American Progress. He has served in a number o
senior roles in governmen, inernaional insiuions, and nonpros. John
previously served as he Execuive Direcor o he Enough Projec a AmericanProgress. John was he chie o poliical aairs or he U.N. Mission in Nepal as
ha counry ried o emerge rom a decade-long war. Previously, John served
as he Washingon chie o sa or he Inernaional Crisis Group, conducing
exensive eldwork and senior-level advocacy or resolving conics in Souh
Asia, Arica, and he Balkans. Earlier in his career John served as he direc-
or o communicaions or U.S. Depuy Secreary o Sae Srobe albot. He
also worked as a speechwrier and eld disaser exper a he U.S. Agency or
Inernaional Developmen. John is he auhor o several books, including he
Disaser Gypsies, a memoir o his work in he eld o emergency relie, and
Collision Course: NAO, Russia and Kosovo. John has published commenary inTe Washingon Pos, Los Angeles imes, Wall Sree Journal, and elsewhere.
He has a graduae degree in public adminisraion.
Abigail Long is he associae or policy and governmen relaions a Humaniy
Unied. Abigail helps o suppor Humaniy Unieds advocacy and oureach
eors o he U.S. governmen, mulilaeral insiuions, inernaional non-
pros, and oher key organizaions. She received a bachelor o ars degree in
inernaional relaions and Spanish rom Syracuse Universiy.
Sarah Margon is he Associae Direcor o he Susainable Securiy and Peacebuilding
Iniiaive a American Progress. Beore joining he Cener, Sarah was a senior oreign
policy advisor o Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and also served as sa direcor o he
Senae Foreign Relaions Subcommitee on Arican Aairs. Prior o her ime in he
Senae, Sarah was a policy advisor or humaniarian response and conic a Oxam
America. A Oxam Sarah ocused on a number o conics in Arica as well as criical
peace and securiy issues such as civilian proecion, conic prevenion, and securiy
secor reorm. Sarah has also worked or he Democracy Coaliion Projec, he Cener
or Naional Securiy Sudies, and George Soross Open Sociey Insiue. A erm
member a he Council on Foreign Relaions, Sarah has a masers degree rom heWalsh School o Foreign Service a Georgeown Universiys and an undergraduae
degree rom Wesleyan Universiy. Sarah has raveled widely hroughou Arica and
Souheas and Souh Asia.
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David Abramowitz is vice presiden or policy and governmen relaions a
Humaniy Unied. Prior o joining Humaniy Unied, David served as chie
counsel o he House Foreign Aairs Commitee, where he was responsible or
advising he commitee on such maters as inernaional law, inernaional jusice,
and global human righs and democracy issues, including racking in persons
and promoing democracy assisance. He has worked on legislaion ranging romhe racking Vicims Proecion Ac o 2000 and he Wilberorce racking
Vicims Proecion Reauhorizaion Ac o 2008 o legislaion implemening he
U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperaion Agreemen and he recommendaions o he
9/11 Commission. Prior o joining he commitee sa in 1999, David worked
a he oce o he legal adviser o he Deparmen o Sae or 10 years on arms
conrol, he Middle Eas, and legislaion relaing o oreign relaions. David holds
a bachelor o ars degree rom Kalamazoo College and a juris docor degree rom
he Universiy o Michigan.
Acknowledements
Humaniy Unied paricipaes in he Prevenion and Proecion Working
Group ha is convened by he Friends Commitee on Naional Legislaion. Te
Prevenion and Proecion Working Group is a coaliion o human righs, reli-
gious, humaniarian, ani-genocide, peace, and oher organizaions dedicaed o
improving U.S. governmen policies and civilian capaciies o preven violen con-
ic, mass arociies, and proec civilians hreaened by such crises. Tis repor
was inspired by discussions wihin he group, and members provided valuable
inpu during is preparaion.
Te auhors would like o hank a number o individuals and organizaions or
heir helpul commens and suggesions during he review process including
Bridge Moix and Mary Saa a he Friends Commitee or Naional Legislaion
and Sally Chin a he Mass Arociy Response Operaions Projec a Harvard
Universiy. Addiional hanks go o Marin Wolberg-Sok, graduae inern wih
CAPs Susainable Securiy and Peacebuilding Iniiaive, and CAPs ireless
ediorial and ar eams.
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Endnotes
1 te Fs Quadeal Dplmay ad Develpme revew: Lead-g tug cvla Pwe QDDr, (Sae Depame ad USAiD,2010), avalale a p://www.sae.gv/dumes/gaza-/153108.pd.
2 te QDDr was eleased Deeme 2010, e Pesdeal De-ve U.S. Glal Develpme Ply Sepeme 2010, ad ePesdeal Sudy Deve Mass Aes Augus 2011.
3 te Fs Quadeal Dplmay ad Develpme revew, p. 123.
4 te Fs Quadeal Dplmay ad Develpme revew, p. 122.
5 id.
6 id.
7 Peveg Deadly c (new Yk: te caege cmmss Peveg Deadly c, 1998).
8 F a ulle expla ese ss, see: css Wa, avalale ap://sswa.g/.
9 te Fs Quadeal Dplmay ad Develpme revew, p. 123.
10 See USAiD ply amewk, page 31. avalale a: p://www.usad.gv/ply/plyamewk_sep11.ml
11 A pese, USAiD eques spealzed ag ly se dvduals eued as ss, salza, ad gveaespealss.
12 bueau c ad Salza opeas, avalale a p://www.sae.gv/s/s/au/dex.m.
13 cvla respse cps: W We Ae, avalale a p://www.vlaespseps.gv/w/dex.m.
14 te Fs Quadeal Dplmay ad Develpme revew, p. 121.
15 te Fs Quadeal Dplmay ad Develpme revew, p. 123.
16 cl Pwell, My Amea juey: A Augapy (new Yk:radm huse, 1995).
17 Gveme Aug oe, Depame Sae: AddalSeps ae needed impve Saeg Plag ad Evalua
tag Sae Pesel, (2011), avalale a p://www.ga.gv/pdus/GAo-11-438t.
18 id.
19 ts laguage s luded rep. bemas da Glal Paesp
A Se 2034 (1), le 12, page 245. te ll as ye eedued.
20 te Fs Quadeal Dplmay ad Develpme revew, p. 173.
21 Sms cee ad e Amea Aademy Dplmay, Fgga 21s-ceuy Dplma Seve e Ued Saes ugPessal Edua ad tag (2011), avalale a: p://www.aademydplmay.g/pulas/Fgg%20a%2021s%20ceuy%20Dplma%20Seve%20-%20Full%20c-e.pd.
22 bueau c ad Salza opeas, avalale a p://www.sae.gv/s/s/au/dex.m.
23 id.
24 te Fs Quadeal Dplmay ad Develpme revew, p. 175.
25 Feg Seve spealsspvde mpa eal, supp, admsave seves 19 aee aeges, ludg dsad pysa asssas, e maageme spealss, mamaageme spealss, dplma seuy ages, ad umaesue spealss. Ea aegy as spe equemes egad-g edua ad expeee.
26 te Amea Feg Seve Assa, AFSA, s e pes-sal assa e U.S. Feg Seve ad e exlusve a-gag age all Feg Seve emplyees e ve egafas agees.
27 Sms cee ad e Amea Aademy Dplmay, Fgga 21s-ceuy Dplma Seve e U ed Saes ugPessal Edua ad tag.
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or all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to
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