Closing the Transition Gap: The Rule of Law Imperative in Stabilization Environments
Intervening forces – whether officially "occupiers" or not – have a duty to create or support existing rule of law institutions in post-conflict states, according to the the fourth paper in the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation's Expeditionary Economics Research Series. A combined reading of international humanitarian and international human rights law presented in the paper implies that intervening forces are, in fact, obliged to take this action. Both the Law of Occupation established by the Hague (IV) Convention and international human rights law (HRL) contain language that occupying forces must "ensure" the basic rights of citizens of occupied areas. Dahl suggests that preservation of life, privacy, property and bodily integrity be the rights used in developing a policing strategy for stabilizing forces.

Revisiting a School of Military Government: How Reanimating a World War II-Era Institution Could Professionalize Military Nation Building
This paper details the U.S. Army−established School of Military Government and its related Civil Affairs Training Program that prepared forces for occupational duties in Europe and Asia. It highlights the demonstrated effectiveness both of its curriculum and approach to education and of its impact on the occupation of Germany and Japan, which offer important lessons for today’s military faced with similar challenges. If nation building, particularly with economic growth as a key component, is to assume a greater role as a component of foreign policy or national security strategy, it needs to consume a greater role of our planning, analysis, and organizational design. Civil Affairs and several other functional areas within the military play a significant role in aspects of nation building today and would benefit from education focused on such matters. Other beneficial initiatives would include creating a mechanism for drawing experts into and out of the military to serve as nation-builders at a level commensurate with their experience, providing a more effective and less expensive option than hiring contractors.

Bactrian Gold: Challenges and Hope for Private-Sector Development in Afghanistan
Despite decades of conflict, corruption and insecurity, Afghanistan has unrecognized and untapped economic potential in its private sector, according to "Bactrian Gold," the second paper in the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation's Expeditionary Economics Research Series. To inform the debate over how best to develop Afghanistan's private sector, "Bactrian Gold" authors Jake Cusack and Erik Malmstrom interviewed more than 130 business owners and economic stakeholders in the Afghan cities of Kabul, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mazar-e-Sharif and Herat, traveling without security or organizational affiliation to better understand the Afghan people's perspectives.

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Building Expeditionary Economics: Understanding the Field and Setting Forth a Research Agenda
In the first paper in the series, Kauffman authors Dane Stangler and Rebecca Patterson build on the argument established in Carl Schramm’s Foreign Affairs article by detailing how ExpECON’s key tenets differ from current development principles, and outlining prescriptions for a more effective development effort.

The authors also highlight facets of ExpECON requiring further study, including systems for measuring economic impact, the organizational structure of foreign aid, potential for preventive defense, enabling requisite military education, and issues in political economy.

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