Investigating the dynamics of nation-building through a system of differential equations

Nation-building modeling is an important field given the increasing number of candidate nations and the limited resources available. In this paper, we present a modeling methodology and a system of differential equations model to investigate the dynamics of nation-building. The methodology is based on solving inverse problems, much like Lanchester equations, and provides measures of merit to evaluate nation-building operations. An application is derived for Operation Iraqi Freedom to demonstrate the utility as well as effects of various alternate strategies, using differing applications of national power. This modeling approach is data driven and offers a significant, novel capability when analyzing and planning for future nation-building scenarios.