| ID | 158005 |
| Title Proper | Small footprint, small payoff |
| Other Title Information | the military effectiveness of security force assistance |
| Language | ENG |
| Author | Biddle, Stephen ; Baker, Ryan |
| Summary / Abstract (Note) | After 15 years of war in Afghanistan and Iraq, many now see ‘small-footprint’ security force assistance (SFA) – training, advising and equipping allied militaries – as an alternative to large US ground-force commitments. Yet, its actual military efficacy has been little studied. This paper seeks to fill this gap. We find important limitations on SFA’s military utility, stemming from agency problems arising from systematic interest misalignment between the US and its typical partners. SFA’s achievable upper bound is modest and attainable only if US policy is intrusive and conditional, which it rarely is. For SFA, small footprints will usually mean small payoffs. |
| `In' analytical Note | Journal of Strategic Studies Vol. 41, No.1-2; Feb 2018: p.89-142 |
| Journal Source | Journal of Strategic Studies Vol: 41 No 1-2 |
| Key Words | Military assistance ; Military Effectiveness ; Training ; Defense Policy ; Allies ; Strategy ; Advising |