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Non-governmental organizations and militaries are notorious for their difficult relationship. The military is mostly understood through the prism of its lethality, and NGOs are perceived as idealistic do-gooders, ready to save the world. Stanislava P. Mladenova traces the changing character of interaction between both of these entities. She argues that the boundaries which once separated their functions are fading. Fragile, ungoverned, and insecure spaces need both of what these actors can provide. As a result, they have drawn closer together, and have everything at their disposal for a collaborative, efficient, and productive civil-military partnership, which is contrary to what many observers and leaders in the conflict and development space have long believed. Mladenova makes a convincing case that it is high time both sets of actors put aside their differences, bringing to light a fast-changing landscape of vicious poverty, insecurity, and climate change, where the conventional way of doing business will become the exception, not the rule.
List of contents
List of Figures and Tables
Foreword
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Acronyms
Chapter 1: IntroductionSix Missing Pieces
The Aim of This Book
Together but Apart
What's to Come
Chapter 2: The Non-HumanitariansGreen Warriors
Civil Affairs
Trading Places
The 95th Civil Affairs Brigade
Civil Reconnaissance
The Non-Humanitarians' Tools
Conclusion
Chapter 3: The EntrepreneursNon-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
NGOs and Donors' Relationship Status: It's Complicated
NGOs in the Gray Space
Conclusion
Chapter 4: Brothers from Another MotherFrom Wholesale to Retail
Sequencing
Strange Bedfellows or Familiar Strangers?
OHDACA
Quick Impact
The Unbalanced Civil-military Budget
Conclusion
Chapter 5: Ground Operators: Between a Rock and a Soft PlaceThe Ground Relationship
Interactions Among Ground Operators
The Loyalists, the Converted, and the Bridgebuilders
On Trust
Conclusion
Chapter 6: The Center of GravityConsulting and Prioritizing Populations in the Gray Space
Local Perceptions SOF and Local Communities
Local Perceptions - NGOs and Local Communities
All Together Now
Populations and the Host Nation Military
Do No Harm
Conclusion
ConclusionRecommendations
A Final Note
Appendix 1. Methodology
Appendix 2. Typology of Civilian and Military Entities' Attributes
Bibliography
About the Author
About the author
Stanislava P. Mladenova is a Global Fellow at Brown University’s Center for Human Rights and Humanitarian Studies, and Fellow at the Irregular Warfare Initiative at the US Military Academy at West Point. Her work has brought her to Africa, Central and South Asia, South America, and the Balkans. She has held positions at various institutions, including the United States Institute of Peace, working in West Africa to establish dialogue between security actors and local communities. As a Political Advisor for NATO in Afghanistan, she helped shape policy on economic issues, governance, corruption, disaster management, humanitarian assistance, and the recruitment of child soldiers. Her research at the Department of War Studies at King’s College London focused on the functional relationship between military and civilian entities in settings affected by low-intensity conflict and state fragility.
