Creating Effective Post-Conflict Transition Organizations

The contemporary operational environment includes a host of variables that make the management of post-conflict transitions a challenge. Constructing the optimal management organization is a key component of successful post-conflict transition. This thesis examined four organizations: the Military Support Group-Panama which was established following the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989, the Office of the High Representative which was at the center of the peace operation in Bosnia from 1995 to the present, the post-conflict transition in Afghanistan following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, and the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. The Military Support Group-Panama illustrated the strengths and weaknesses of a purely military organization and how it worked in the unique situation of Panama. However, the Bosnia situation called for broader international involvement and the Office of the High Representative served as the focal point for a complex organization. The ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq offered a comparison of vastly different organizations operating in the contemporary operating environment. The four case studies showed that post-conflict transition and reconstruction and stabilization operations can benefit from a tailored management organization that emphasizes simplicity, responsiveness, flexibility, sustainability, and efficiency to achieve maximum success.