Stephen Watts

Overview

Commentary

• 

  A Competing Risks Approach to Security Sector Assistance for Fragile States

  How should the U.S. balance the risks of cooperating with troubling governments against the risk that ISIS or similar groups could gain strength in these fragile states?

  May 2, 2016 Lawfare

• 

  In Afghanistan, the Glass Is Still Better Seen as Half Full: A Response to Gary Owen

  While things are certainly not “great” in Afghanistan, there are more reasons for hope than many had expected to see by this point in the transition from a large U.S. presence to a greatly reduced one.

  Aug 24, 2015 Lawfare

• 

  Afghanistan After the Drawdown

  If neither victory nor a political settlement are likely in the short term, and if complete withdrawal is unpalatable, then the United States must ensure that its support of Afghanistan remains politically sustainable.

  Jul 6, 2015 Lawfare

• 

  The Foreign Policy Essay: The Limits of Small Footprints

  The history of “small-footprint approaches” should be sobering. It suggests that such approaches are good at preventing allied governments from losing against rebels, but are not very good at actually winning wars.

  Mar 31, 2014 Lawfare

Publications

• Journal Article

  Journal Article

  Rapid Regeneration of Irregular Warfare Capacity

  DOD should monitor resources and readiness levels associated with the pipeline to regenerate IW proficiency between maneuver and other rouces as needed.

  Jul 16, 2015

• Journal Article

  Journal Article

  Determining U.S. Commitments in Afghanistan

  As the Obama administration's tenure winds down and the United States withdraws nearly all of its troops from Afghanistan, debates about the nature and scale of future U.S. involvement in Afghanistan continue.

  May 21, 2015

• 

  Report

  Identifying and Mitigating Risks in Security Sector Assistance for Africa's Fragile States

  Often those countries most in need of security sector assistance are least able to make good use of it. The author explores the risks of assistance to the fragile states of Africa and how the United States might better anticipate and mitigate them.

  Apr 15, 2015

• Report

  Report

  Assessing the Army's Active-Reserve Component Force Mix

  Active-reserve force mix decisions should consider both capability and cost. This report examines two critical considerations: the time needed to make forces ready to deploy and the relative cost to sustain the same level of deployed output.

  Sep 10, 2014

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  Report

  Countering Others' Insurgencies: Understanding U.S. Small-Footprint Interventions in Local Context

  This report describes counterinsurgency strategies and practices and conditions in which U.S. small-footprint partnerships may succeed. Case studies of the Philippines and Pakistan reinforce quantitative findings and highlight challenges for the U.S. in influencing partners.

  Feb 25, 2014

• Research Brief

  Research Brief

  Partner Capacity in Counterinsurgency Campaigns

  Success stories in small-footprint U.S. interventions have occurred in countries with inclusive politics and reasonable state capacity. Unfortunately, most insurgencies seek to overthrow regimes that are weak in inclusion and capacity.

  Feb 11, 2014

• Periodical

  Periodical

  RAND Review: Vol. 37, No. 1, Summer 2013

  Stories discuss the harms caused by sexual assault in the military; the prospects for minimalist international interventions; cyber threats and nations' responses to them; and the rising costs of dementia in the United States.

  Jul 15, 2013

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  Research Brief

  The Value and Limitations of Minimalist Stabilization Efforts

  Assesses the utility and limitations of minimalist stabilization -- small-scale interventions designed to stabilize a partner government engaged in violent conflict -- and proposes policy recommendations to improve the outcomes of such operations.

  Oct 1, 2012

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  Report

  The Uses and Limits of Small-Scale Military Interventions

  Assesses the utility and limitations of minimalist stabilization -- small-scale interventions designed to stabilize a partner government engaged in violent conflict -- and proposes policy recommendations to improve the outcomes of such operations.

  Sep 27, 2012

• Report

  Report

  Dilemmas of Intervention: Social Science for Stabilization and Reconstruction

  Reviews and integrates the scholarly social-science literature relevant to stabilization and reconstruction, with the goal of informing strategic planning at the whole-of-government level.

  Oct 10, 2011