Creating New States

Nation Building as Security Policy

Unit 6: Creating New States

This part of Paine’s book is different than earlier parts. Rather than look to individual cases for lessons, this part takes pairs of countries that share a great deal. In scientific terms, we are controlling for certain variables. For example, the fact that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share the same island rules out geographic or climactic explanations. And the two Koreas obviously have a lot in common, but the explanation for the divergent outcomes is not as obvious as you might first imagine. The things these pairs have in common cannot explain the quite different outcomes. This is an important type of case study that you should be aware of. Take note.

All of the cases below have lessons to teach, and each of them contribute to the credibility of the overall conclusions. There are, however, too many to cover in the time allotted. I gave preference to those countries that are the most significant to U.S. geostrategic interests today.

Paine’s book takes a very long view of nation building. In the next unit, we’ll be reading more from Fukuyama and we’ll be looking more closely at the American experience with nation building and focus on Afghanistan and Iraq.

Required Reading

Paine, Haiti, pp. 153-166.
Paine, Dominican Republic, pp 167-181.
Paine, Jordan, pp. 182-193.
Paine, Israel, pp. 194-207.
Paine, North Korea, pp. 208-222.
Paine, South Korea, pp. 223-236.
Paine, Conclusions, pp. 291-312.

Optional Reading

Paine, Congo, pp. 237-249.
Paine, Gabon, pp 250-262.
Paine, Papua New Guinea, pp. 263-276.
Paine, Indonesia, pp. 277-289.

Discussion Questions

DQ 1. Hispaniola: What best explains the different nation building outcomes of the Dominican Republic and Haiti: foreign intervention, colonial past, leadership, accidents of history, or other?

DQ 2. Workforce: An educated, experienced workforce—bureaucrats, professionals, laborers—appears to be a critical factor in nation building. How has the absence or presence of a workforce worked for and against the new states examined this week? Give examples.

DQ 3. The Koreas: Pick not one but two variables that best explain the divergence of paths followed in North and South Korea.

DQ 4. Conclusions: What do you make of all this? Is each case sui generis? Are there some valuable conclusions that generalize to guide U.S. foreign policy?

Lessons Learned

Submit a 350-word summary of what you have learned from this unit's assignments, readings, and discussions and how they relate to your learning experience and work environment. Include all assigned reading, not just the reading associated with the DQs.