The Regional Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) is an Australian led diplomatic intervention which deployed in July 2003 to establish peace and security. RAMSI has a “light” military presence and a strong emphasis on law and justice, democratic governance, and economic growth. The efforts of RAMSI and other donors have led to short-term successes. Challenges remain in the police and justice sectors, including entrenched corruption, poor resourcing, inability to recruit and retain qualified legal staff, lack of engagement with traditional justice systems, and outsourcing much of the daily work.

Haiti, the epitome of a fragile state, has been receiving international assistance via repeated UN missions and U.S. interventions for more than 20 years. Criminal gangs exploited the country’s sovereignty gap by wresting control over territory from the state and acquiring legitimacy among certain poor populations. The gangs can be understood as a network of “violence entrepreneurs” operating within a complex environment, a system of systems within the slums. While not as sophisticated as major international criminal organizations, between 2006 and 2007 the politically connected criminal gangs constituted a major challenge for the state and the UN peacekeeping mission, as well as a threat to national stability.

Examining the causes of the 9/11 attacks and the responses required to diminish the likelihood of future attacks, the Bush administration undertook a comprehensive national security review. Two significant findings emerged. First, contemporary threats facing the United States could not be mitigated by military force alone. Second, it is necessary to stabilize weak or failed states in order to diminish the grievances terrorists and other spoilers use to mobilize support. The 2002 National Security Strategy (NSS) acknowledged this new international environment and declared fragile and conflict states a threat to U.S. security. Consequently, “stabilizing” these countries became a foreign policy goal.