Soft power supporters stand between two ideological poles. On one hand, humanitarians complain that military involvement in the development sector will taint their work. On the other hand, hard power evangelists complain that incorporating soft power strategies will reduce their warfighting capability to slightly above that of the Peace Corps. Craig Kiebler is one of a few people able to exist, even thrive, between the two sides. In a post worthy of note, Kiebler argues for service delivery as a critical compliment to physical security:
“The foundation of social services sets the stage for market and economic sector development, support to individual livelihoods, public health, and food security, which in the end, supports the efforts of units trying to provide physical security. Services become forms of ’soft infrastructure’, if you will, by investing in the human capital in a region. They are not independent of physical security, nor is physical security effective without services. Therefore, can we devise methodologies to plan and implement security functions in conflict areas with more of a holistic approach?”
Also, feel free to harass him over email until he writes Part II of the post.
Christopher R. Albon is a political science Ph.D. specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
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