James Dobbins
Biographic Data
| ID | 1003555 |
|---|---|
| NAME | James Dobbins |
| GIVEN NAMES | James |
| FAMILY NAME | Dobbins |
| SIGNATURE | DOBBINS J |
| AFFILIATIONS | Russian State Agrarian Correspondence University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 34 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 32 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 34 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1987 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2023 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
War with China
James Dobbins, who died on 3 July 2023 at the age of 81, was one of his generation’s pre-eminent diplomats and foreign-policy scholars. He contributed more than a dozen articles to Survival, including this article, among the most-read articles in the journal’s history, first published in 2012. We are republishing it here in full
Biden Administration Continues Efforts to Change Immigration Policy Amidst Surges of Migrants and Court Losses
conference in September, governments and other donors pledged $1.2 billion in humanitarian funding. 72 The humanitarian situation remains precarious. The United Nations estimates that since the start of 2021, over half a million Afghans have been internally displaced, and "a potential worst-case scenario envisages over 515,000 newly displaced refugees fleeing across the borders" through the end of 2021. 73 These totals would add to the 2.6 millio…
America's Strategy-Resource Mismatch: Addressing the Gaps Between U.S. National Strategy and Military Capacity
In order to defend itself and its national interests, and to maintain the trust of allies as a reliable security guarantor, the United States must match its national security policies with the resources available to support them. This report discusses the specific gaps between the stated strategic and defense policies of the United States and the resources and capabilities that would be required to implement those policies successfully.
Russia Is a Rogue, Not a Peer; China Is a Peer, Not a Rogue: Different Challenges, Different Responses
Russia and China represent distinct challenges to U.S. national security. Russia is not a peer or near-peer competitor but rather a well-armed rogue state that seeks to subvert an international order it can never hope to dominate. China is a peer competitor that wants to shape an international order that it can aspire to dominate. This Perspective assesses U.S. policy options in the competition among Russia, China, and the United States.
After the Summit: Prospects for the Korean Peninsula
History suggests that the most probable consequence of the Singapore Summit will be difficult and lengthy negotiation followed by slow and inadequate compliance, quite possibly on both sides
Knowing the Enemy: Understanding the Islamic State and Principles for Defeating It
In this Perspective, RAND researchers help identify threats to U.S. interests posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), propose a context in which ISIL should be judged (particularly ISIL's character and motivations, as well as key regional and global issues that frame the context), provide an initial framework for interpreting these data and insights, and outline a way ahead for developing and assessing courses of action and gene…
Foreign Service: Five Decades on the Frontlines of American Diplomacy
From Vietnam in the 1960s to Afghanistan in this decade, James Dobbins was on the frontlines of American diplomacy and worked to advance U.S. national interests in some of the world's most difficult and troubled arenas.
Rolling Back the Islamic State
The Islamic State has lost substantial amounts of territory but continues to conduct and inspire attacks around the world. This report assesses the threat the Islamic State poses to the United States and examines strategies to counter the group and prevent a resurgence of the Islamic State or other Salafi-jihadist groups
The End of a Caliphate
It is not clear that the United States will commit to the long-term efforts needed to prevail against the Islamic State’s affiliates, and to ensure the organisation does not re-emerge in Iraq and Syria
Overcoming Obstacles to Peace: Local Factors in Nation-Building
In the past decade, RAND has published a series of studies on nationbuilding. We intend this term to describe operations conducted by external civilian and military authorities that employ armed force alongside other means of influence in the aftermath of conflict to promote enduring peace. Some prefer the term state-building, giving primacy to postconflict activities aimed at constructing state institutions and deemphasizing those activities int…
Overcoming Obstacles to Peace
Societies emerging from conflict face many obstacles to achieving enduring peace, economic development and political reform. These include sectarian divides, historical animosities, poverty, weak i
War with China
China could become the most powerful adversary the United States has ever faced. How might a war with China begin, how might it proceed, how might it end, and how might it be prevented
Coping with a Nuclearizing Iran
Some time in the coming decade, Iran will probably acquire nuclear weapons or the capacity to quickly produce them. This monograph provides a midterm strategy for dealing with Iran that neither begins nor ends at the point at which Tehran acquires a nuclear weapon capability. It proposes an approach that neither acquiesces to a nuclear-armed Iran nor refuses to admit the possibility — indeed, the likelihood — of this occurring.
Coping with a Nuclearising Iran
The West has focused on how to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, or what to do after it does. What we lack is a framework for dealing with Iran before, while and after it crosses the threshold
Afghanistan: Guidelines for a Peace Process
The overarching Western objective in Afghanistan should be to prevent that country from becoming not just a haven for transnational terrorists, but a terrorist ally as well. That was the situation
Building a More Resilient Haitian State
On January 12, 2010, an earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, Leogane, and other cities and settlements in the south of Haiti, leaving 300,000 people dead, another 300,000 injured, and 1.3 million homeless. The Haitian government and the international community moved rapidly to address the immediate humanitarian crisis. The homeless are now sheltered in tents and provided with food and water. The airport was quickly reopened, and the port of Port…
Negotiating with Iran: Reflections from Personal Experience
As the United States conducts bilateral and multiparty negotiations with Iran, it is worth recalling the last, and perhaps only, occasion when the U.S. and revolutionary Iranian governments coopera
U.S. W ithdrawal from I raq: W hat A re the R egional I mplications
Occupying Iraq: A Short History of the CPA
It is unlikely that American officials will again face decisions exactly like those required of the Coalition Provisional Authority in spring 2003. Formal occupations had largely fallen out of favour by the second half of the twentieth century, and the CPA experience is not likely to be replicated. But it is certain that the international community will again find itself assisting societies emerging from conflict to build an enduring peace and es…
Towards a More Professional Approach to Nation-building
This article describes the slow and uneven movement towards a more professional approach to nation-building. The post-cold war era is replete with instances where the United States found itself burdened by the challenges of nation-building in the wake of a successful military operation. American performance in the conduct of such missions improved slowly through the 1990s, but this trend was not sustained into the decade beginning in 2000. The ar…
Europe's Role in Nation Building
Despite continuing difficulties, European institutions for the management of civil–military operations have developed to the stage where more than brief, tentative experiments can be embarked upon with some confidence. The greatest challenges faced by the EU are not in the efficacious employment of armed force, but rather in formulating and applying the broader political-military strategy which must underlie it. Outside of Europe, the most effici…
Early Days in Iraq: Decisions of the CPA
Iraq provides an object lesson in the costs and consequences of unprepared reconstruction. The record of the Coalition Provisional Authority during its 14 months in Iraq, in particular several of its most controversial decisions, including the disbandment of the Iraqi army, the exclusion of senior Ba'ath Party members from government office, the timing and organisation of national elections, the development of an Iraqi constitution and the beginn…
Securing the Peace: Presidents and Nation Building from FDR to George W. Bush
In the United States, military and foreign policies are most obviously shaped by the president. Presidential personality clearly influences the sort of decision-making process each incumbent feels comfortable with: whether he prefers oral or written interactions, has an appetite for detail, or can tolerate conflict among and with subordinates. A review of the personal styles of five American presidents reveals three broad approaches that can be c…
Securing Tyrants or Fostering Reform? U.S. Internal Security Assistance to Repressive and Transitioning Regimes: U.S. internal security assistance to repressive and transitioning regimes
This study examines the results of U.S. assistance to the internal security forces of four repressive states: El Salvador, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Efforts to improve the security, human rights, and accountability of security forces appear more likely to succeed in states transitioning from repressive to democratic systems. In addition, several factors are critical for success: the duration of assistance, viability of the justice sy…
Preparing for nation-building
Preparation for nation-building requires that responsible political leaders consult both with regional and functional experts, those who know why the society in question descended into conflict and those who know from experience elsewhere how to put such societies back together. Goals must be established which transcend the most immediate and normally negative purposes of the inter vention, e.g. halting conflict, stopping genocide or turning back…
The UN Security Council: From the Cold War to the 21st Century
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL From the Cold War to the 21st Century Edited by David M. Malone Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004. 740pp, US$65.00 cloth (ISBN 1-58826-215-4), US$29.95 paper (ISBN 1-58826-240-5)AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE UN Linda Fasulo New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. xx, 245pp, US$27.00 cloth (ISBN 0-300-10155-4)THE UN'S ROLE IN NATION-BUILDING From the Congo to Iraq James Dobbins, et al Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2005. 31…
America's Role in Nation-building: From Germany to Iraq
Additional informationNotes on contributorsJames F. DobbinsJames F. Dobbins was the Clinton administration's special envoy for Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo, and, in the aftermath of 11 September 2001, the Bush administration's special envoy for Afghanistan. He served as Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, Special Assistant to the President for the Western Hemisphere and Ambassador to the European Community. He is currently Director for …
War with China
China could become the most powerful adversary the United States has ever faced. How might a war with China begin, how might it proceed, how might it end, and how might it be prevented
Negotiating with Iran: Reflections from Personal Experience
As the United States conducts bilateral and multiparty negotiations with Iran, it is worth recalling the last, and perhaps only, occasion when the U.S. and revolutionary Iranian governments coopera
Occupying Iraq: A Short History of the CPA
It is unlikely that American officials will again face decisions exactly like those required of the Coalition Provisional Authority in spring 2003. Formal occupations had largely fallen out of favour by the second half of the twentieth century, and the CPA experience is not likely to be replicated. But it is certain that the international community will again find itself assisting societies emerging from conflict to build an enduring peace and es…
Iraq: Winning the Unwinnable War
THE RECENT American presidential campaign has had the per verse effect of postponing any serious national debate on the future U.S. course in Iraq. Electoral considerations placed a premium on consistency at the expense of common sense, with both candidates insisting that even with perfect hindsight they would have acted just as they did two years ago: going to war or voting to authorize doing so. The campaign also revealed the paucity of good op…
Is stress always bad? Telic versus paratelic dominance as a stress-moderating variable
War with China
James Dobbins, who died on 3 July 2023 at the age of 81, was one of his generation’s pre-eminent diplomats and foreign-policy scholars. He contributed more than a dozen articles to Survival, including this article, among the most-read articles in the journal’s history, first published in 2012. We are republishing it here in full
U.S. W ithdrawal from I raq: W hat A re the R egional I mplications
No Model War
The UN's Role in Nation-Building: From the Congo to Iraq
Is stress always bad? Telic versus paratelic dominance as a stress-moderating variable
America's Role in Nation-Building: From Germany to Iraq
In Iraq, the United States is facing its most challenging nation-building project since the 1940s. The authors draw lessons from seven case studies — Germany, Japan, Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Afghanistan — then apply these to the Iraq case. The results suggest that nation-building will be difficult but possible. Success will, however, require investing sufficient financial, military, and political resources — and time.
America's Role in Nation-building: From Germany to Iraq
Additional informationNotes on contributorsJames F. DobbinsJames F. Dobbins was the Clinton administration's special envoy for Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia and Kosovo, and, in the aftermath of 11 September 2001, the Bush administration's special envoy for Afghanistan. He served as Assistant Secretary of State for Europe, Special Assistant to the President for the Western Hemisphere and Ambassador to the European Community. He is currently Director for …
The UN's role in nation-building: From the Belgian Congo to Iraq
Since the end of the Cold War, the United States and the United Nations have both been heavily engaged in nation-building and have developed their own distinct approaches to the conduct of such missions. In the aftermath of its early and widely publicised failures in Somalia and Yugoslavia, the UN's reputation for competent nationbuilding was seriously damaged, and demand for its services fell off noticeably. More recently, the US reputation for …
New directions for transatlantic security cooperation
Western armies are masters of the conventional battlefield, but continue to have difficulty prevailing in unconventional conflict. Yet unconventional missions, including peacekeeping, counterinsurgency, counter-narcotics and counter-terrorism, are the only kind that NATO or EU forces are likely to be collectively assigned for the foreseeable future. These, then, should be the focus for NATO and EU planning, training and equipping. While the UN is…
The UN Security Council: From the Cold War to the 21st Century
THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL From the Cold War to the 21st Century Edited by David M. Malone Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2004. 740pp, US$65.00 cloth (ISBN 1-58826-215-4), US$29.95 paper (ISBN 1-58826-240-5)AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE UN Linda Fasulo New Haven: Yale University Press, 2004. xx, 245pp, US$27.00 cloth (ISBN 0-300-10155-4)THE UN'S ROLE IN NATION-BUILDING From the Congo to Iraq James Dobbins, et al Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2005. 31…
The UN's Role in Nation-Building: From the Congo to Iraq
Iraq: Winning the Unwinnable War
THE RECENT American presidential campaign has had the per verse effect of postponing any serious national debate on the future U.S. course in Iraq. Electoral considerations placed a premium on consistency at the expense of common sense, with both candidates insisting that even with perfect hindsight they would have acted just as they did two years ago: going to war or voting to authorize doing so. The campaign also revealed the paucity of good op…
Securing Tyrants or Fostering Reform? U.S. Internal Security Assistance to Repressive and Transitioning Regimes: U.S. internal security assistance to repressive and transitioning regimes
This study examines the results of U.S. assistance to the internal security forces of four repressive states: El Salvador, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Efforts to improve the security, human rights, and accountability of security forces appear more likely to succeed in states transitioning from repressive to democratic systems. In addition, several factors are critical for success: the duration of assistance, viability of the justice sy…
Preparing for nation-building
Preparation for nation-building requires that responsible political leaders consult both with regional and functional experts, those who know why the society in question descended into conflict and those who know from experience elsewhere how to put such societies back together. Goals must be established which transcend the most immediate and normally negative purposes of the inter vention, e.g. halting conflict, stopping genocide or turning back…
No Model War
Towards a More Professional Approach to Nation-building
This article describes the slow and uneven movement towards a more professional approach to nation-building. The post-cold war era is replete with instances where the United States found itself burdened by the challenges of nation-building in the wake of a successful military operation. American performance in the conduct of such missions improved slowly through the 1990s, but this trend was not sustained into the decade beginning in 2000. The ar…
Europe's Role in Nation Building
Despite continuing difficulties, European institutions for the management of civil–military operations have developed to the stage where more than brief, tentative experiments can be embarked upon with some confidence. The greatest challenges faced by the EU are not in the efficacious employment of armed force, but rather in formulating and applying the broader political-military strategy which must underlie it. Outside of Europe, the most effici…
Early Days in Iraq: Decisions of the CPA
Iraq provides an object lesson in the costs and consequences of unprepared reconstruction. The record of the Coalition Provisional Authority during its 14 months in Iraq, in particular several of its most controversial decisions, including the disbandment of the Iraqi army, the exclusion of senior Ba'ath Party members from government office, the timing and organisation of national elections, the development of an Iraqi constitution and the beginn…
Securing the Peace: Presidents and Nation Building from FDR to George W. Bush
In the United States, military and foreign policies are most obviously shaped by the president. Presidential personality clearly influences the sort of decision-making process each incumbent feels comfortable with: whether he prefers oral or written interactions, has an appetite for detail, or can tolerate conflict among and with subordinates. A review of the personal styles of five American presidents reveals three broad approaches that can be c…
U.S. W ithdrawal from I raq: W hat A re the R egional I mplications
Occupying Iraq: A Short History of the CPA
It is unlikely that American officials will again face decisions exactly like those required of the Coalition Provisional Authority in spring 2003. Formal occupations had largely fallen out of favour by the second half of the twentieth century, and the CPA experience is not likely to be replicated. But it is certain that the international community will again find itself assisting societies emerging from conflict to build an enduring peace and es…
Building a More Resilient Haitian State
On January 12, 2010, an earthquake devastated Port-au-Prince, Leogane, and other cities and settlements in the south of Haiti, leaving 300,000 people dead, another 300,000 injured, and 1.3 million homeless. The Haitian government and the international community moved rapidly to address the immediate humanitarian crisis. The homeless are now sheltered in tents and provided with food and water. The airport was quickly reopened, and the port of Port…
Negotiating with Iran: Reflections from Personal Experience
As the United States conducts bilateral and multiparty negotiations with Iran, it is worth recalling the last, and perhaps only, occasion when the U.S. and revolutionary Iranian governments coopera
Coping with a Nuclearizing Iran
Some time in the coming decade, Iran will probably acquire nuclear weapons or the capacity to quickly produce them. This monograph provides a midterm strategy for dealing with Iran that neither begins nor ends at the point at which Tehran acquires a nuclear weapon capability. It proposes an approach that neither acquiesces to a nuclear-armed Iran nor refuses to admit the possibility — indeed, the likelihood — of this occurring.
Coping with a Nuclearising Iran
The West has focused on how to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, or what to do after it does. What we lack is a framework for dealing with Iran before, while and after it crosses the threshold
Afghanistan: Guidelines for a Peace Process
The overarching Western objective in Afghanistan should be to prevent that country from becoming not just a haven for transnational terrorists, but a terrorist ally as well. That was the situation
War with China
China could become the most powerful adversary the United States has ever faced. How might a war with China begin, how might it proceed, how might it end, and how might it be prevented
Overcoming Obstacles to Peace: Local Factors in Nation-Building
In the past decade, RAND has published a series of studies on nationbuilding. We intend this term to describe operations conducted by external civilian and military authorities that employ armed force alongside other means of influence in the aftermath of conflict to promote enduring peace. Some prefer the term state-building, giving primacy to postconflict activities aimed at constructing state institutions and deemphasizing those activities int…
Overcoming Obstacles to Peace
Societies emerging from conflict face many obstacles to achieving enduring peace, economic development and political reform. These include sectarian divides, historical animosities, poverty, weak i
Political science (33 works) · Law (25 works) · Law (17 works) · Politics (15 works) · Sociology (15 works) · Public Administration (13 works) · Computer Science (12 works) · Political economy (12 works) · Economics (9 works) · Global Peace and Security Dynamics (9 works)