Introduction: Coordinating actors in complex operations

Abstract

International responses to conflicts and humanitarian emergencies have become more crowded. Not only do traditional actors intervene on a greater scale, such as non-governmental organizations and the military, but new actors such as Private Military Security Companies also play an increasingly important role. These actors often differ in their precise objective and the constituencies they are accountable to. Yet, the practices of these actors in operations are intertwined and many of their tasks overlap. Improved communication and coordination of these actors in complex operations can thus be expected to lead to strong increases in mission effectiveness. This Special Issue provides a conceptual platform to understand and explain under what conditions coordination among these actors occurs. The articles cluster around three themes. A first set focuses on who the actors involved are along a private vs public and military vs civilian divide; a second group of articles assesses experiences of coordination of different actors in the field; finally, a third looks at a plurality of elements that may trigger or hinder coordination.

Keywords:

• complex operations
• coordination
• comprehensive approach
• Private Military Security Companies
• NGOs
• development contractors
• military organizations

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to thank the two editors of the journal, Paul Rich and Thomas-Durrell Young, for their trust, expert advice and continuous support on this project; Jan Angstrom for the many words of encouragement and the authors of the Special Issue for their hard work and impressive collaborative effort on the volume as a whole. The author also gratefully acknowledges the financial support of the Cofund Marie Curie-FAS Postdoctoral Fellowship (2011-0143).

Notes

1. Complex operations entail a significant international response, involving both military and civilian in a state where there is a total or considerable breakdown of authority from an internal or external conflict (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, definition 2004).

2. http://www.cmi.no/afghanistan/themes/ngos.cfm (accessed April 1, 2013). For a longitudinal perspective, see American Institute for Research, Education and the Role of NGOs in Emergencies: Afghanistan 1978–2002.

3. Center on International Cooperation at New York University, Annual Review of Global Peace Operations, 2011, Press Advisory, p.1 and 4 https://www.rienner.com/uploads/4d63ff48c7687.pdf.

4. Ruffa and Vennesson, ‘Fighting and Helping?’.