Principles of Building Partnership Capacity

Abstract : The National Defense Strategy of the United States continues to place ever greater importance on the practice of building the capacity of partner nations. The role of the United States military in this endeavor will continue to grow for the foreseeable future. Thus, the central research question of this thesis is as follows: What are the core commonalities that make Building Partnership Capacity (BPC) efforts successful? To answer this question, the author presents 6 criteria to evaluate prospective BPC engagements and 10 key considerations that BPC planners can use to increase the probability of successfully building a capacity in a partner nation. The secondary research question examines the characteristics of joint BPC engagements (engagements involving two or more Military Departments operating under a single joint force commander). To answer the secondary research question, the author presents 6 characteristics for the joint BPC planner to incorporate in addition to the 10 key considerations previously discussed. With the ever-expanding reliance on coalitions and the importance of regional security to combat global threats, BPC contributes much to the overall deterrence capability of the United States. The thesis examines this significant Department of Defense mission and provides recommendations to assist decision makers in evaluating BPC engagements and planners in developing both traditional and joint BPC engagements.