Empowering citizens Engaging governments Rebuilding communities

Foreword
Recent civil stabilization successes can be traced to
efforts launched in the Balkans in the 1990s. There,
civil society groups became critical partners in sustaining
and strengthening the peace. The communitybased
model employed in that region is now being
applied in other conflict and postconflict zones,
including West Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
A fairly new development is that NGOs now cooperate
and coordinate directly with US and international security
forces, along with bilateral and multilateral donor
agencies. In places like Iraq and Afghanistan, the
coordination has been so close that the NGOs’ work
has been viewed as examples of effective counterinsurgency.
As military and civilian leaders have pointed
out, civilian agencies are best equipped to understand
and work directly with local communities, and they are
generally better received by local governments and
populations. While some development organizations
say “civ-mil” partnerships would compromise their
neutrality, beneficiaries recognize the consistency of
such partnerships with the NGO community’s mission
to assist the world’s vulnerable populations—even
those caught in armed conflict.
This publication explores the Community Stabilization
Program (CSP) in Iraq, a successful civ-mil partnership.
This cooperative agreement between USAID and
IRD initially funded stabilization activities in Baghdad
and then expanded nationwide. At the height of the
program, IRD had 1,800 staff (more than 90 percent
local employees) in 15 cities and was implementing
$21 million a month in programming. Where CSP went,
multiple USAID audits, military, and USAID experts say
that stability tended to follow.
from its Community Revitalization through Democratic
Action (CRDA) program in the Balkans. IRD applied
lessons about mobilizing war-weary populations to
reestablish self-governance, community organization,
and democratic principles. CSP benefited from IRD’s
on-the-ground presence and record of success in Iraq,
as well as the earned trust of local communities. The
program supported basic training on principles of
governance, promoted civil society institutions, and
instituted a rapid participatory appraisal process to
get projects moving quickly. With this capacity development,
Iraqi community groups developed action
plans and implemented them in coordination with the
military and local provincial reconstruction teams as
well as local ministry officials—helping legitimize the
government and establish lines of trust and communication
between leaders and citizens.
This publication offers an unvarnished examination
of CSP and its precursor program in Iraq—the
approaches, challenges, results, and impacts. The
story is told in the voice of the many people who
implemented it as well as by the beneficiaries who
appreciated its contributions to improving security,
government services, and the quality of life in conflictaffected
areas. In my view CSP provides evidence
to support the assertion that social and economic
development does help sustain peace and stability.
Dr. Arthur B. Keys Jr.
CSP relied on more than civ-mil partnership, however.
The program also built on the experience IRD gained
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