Military Occupation

Campus Report ^ | June 4, 2008 | Ben Giles

[bs9021]

Military Occupation

by: Ben Giles, June 04, 2008

David Edelstein argues for one major variable of success for military occupancy, and his research shows that the War in Iraq has done a poor job of recognizing this all-important factor.

Edelstein, an assistant professor at Georgetown University, presented the findings of his new book, Occupational Hazards: Success and Failure In Military Occupancy, at the Cato Institute on May 29, a subject which moderator Justin Long called a “terribly important topic, and terribly timely as well.”

“If only we had had this book before the invasion of Iraq,” said Jack Snyder of Columbia University, in comments on the newly released book.

Edelstein’s research isolated the threat level faced by the occupied country as the most important factor leading to the success or failure of the occupation.

“The key to a successful operation, historically, is the presence of an external threat from which the occupying power can protect the population,” said Edelstein, “and which motivates the occupying power to continue to provide those resources and sustain the commitment through the occupation.”

Without that threat, Edelstein finds that occupancy tends to fail. Out of 26 completed and four ongoing cases studied since 1815, only about 25 percent succeeded.

With one exception—the occupation of Napoleonic France in 1815—all instances of successful military occupation occurred following World War II.

Edelstein argued that the threat of communism from the U.S.S.R. inclined countries like Germany and Japan to accept occupation by the United States. Without such an intense outward threat, dissatisfaction with occupation settles among the occupied country.

“Nationalism—their desire to govern themselves—leads them to quickly grow impatient with military population,” said Edelstein.

The outward threat is also important to the occupying power...

[DieHard the Hunter]

> Edelstein’s research isolated the threat level faced by the occupied country as the most important factor leading to the success or failure of the occupation.

This would appear to be a self-apparent truth. If this is news to anyone I am surprised.

[Parmy]

Edelstein argued that the threat of communism from the U.S.S.R. inclined countries like Germany and Japan to accept occupation by the United States. Without such an intense outward threat, dissatisfaction with occupation settles among the occupied country.

The fact that these two countries had been totally defeated in a war that left them totally devastated and the fact that they had surrendered unconditionally had nothing to do with it. (Sarc)

[wny]

Iraq is not “occupied”. The day the Iraquis voted in their own government, Iraq ceased being “occupied”.