Combining academic scholarship with the experience of a senior Pentagon policymaker, Mara E. Karlin explores the key national security issue of out time: how to effectively build partner militaries. Given the complex and complicated global security environment, volatile U.S. defense budgets, and an increasingly connected (and often unstable) world, the United States has an ever-deepening interest in strengthening fragile states. Particularly since World War II, it has often chosen to do so by strengthening partner militaries. It will continue this practice, Karlin predicts, given U.S. sensitivity to casualties, the constrained fiscal environment, the nature of modern nationalism, increasing transnational security threats, the proliferation of fragile states, and limits on U.S. public support for military interventions. However, the record of success is thin. While most analyses of these programs emphasize training and equipment, Building Militaries in Fragile States argues that this approach is misguided. Instead, given the nature of fragile states, Karlin focuses on the outsize roles played by two key factors: the U.S. military and unhelpful external actors. With a rich comparative case-study approach that spans Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, she unearths provocative findings that suggest the traditional way of working with foreign militaries needs to be rethought. Casting the practiced eye of a national security official over her results-based exploration, Karlin offers new and meaningful findings for building partner militaries in fragile states. -- Inside jacket flaps.

Understanding the problem -- Greece : the "will to win" was fruitless without U.S. involvement -- South Vietnam : building a military "American style" -- Lebanon I : "the United States is short of breath" but others are not -- Lebanon II : "the side that won was willing to kill and be killed" -- Findings and implications.