Legitimacy and Penetration in Stability Operations

<p>State formation aims to achieve a legitimate monopoly on the use of violence and a legitimate government as perceived by its population. Governments have two principle mechanisms force and consent to create the conditions within which it can battle for legitimacy. Penetration is an epiphenomenon of legitimacy; it is a measure of a government's ability to implement its policies within a specific area. Stability operations provide a mechanism by which the international community endeavors to reestablish order within a dysfunctional state. Stability operations are synonymous to state formation as they seek to assist with the establishment of legitimate government. A stabilization force seeks to simultaneously deliver; security (force) governance and development (consent) down to the local level to augment a government's penetration and enhance its battle for legitimacy. Civilian development agencies have an ambitious agenda to provide more than a legitimate government and a monopoly on violence. They lack the capacity to conduct governance and development at the local level. This lack of capacity debilitates the consent mechanism of state formation and inhibits the simultaneous application of governance development and security. Penetration is consequently limited to the national district and provincial levels. Subversive and insurgent organizations are able to operate at the local level exploiting this 'capacity gap' ;. Thus the conditions are set for perpetual failure.</p><p>This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore you will see the original copyright references library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world) and other notations in the work.</p><p>This work is in the public domain in the United States of America and possibly other nations. Within the United States you may freely copy and distribute this work as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.</p><p>As a reproduction of a historical artifact this work may contain missing or blurred pages poor pictures errant marks etc. Scholars believe and we concur that this work is important enough to be preserved reproduced and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.</p>