01st September 2016 23:12:38 Hours
The session chaired by Dr Radhika Coomaraswamy - Civil Representative of the Constitutional Council (Sri Lanka): Former Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Children and Armed Conflict in the ongoing ‘Colombo Defence Seminar - 2016’ at the BMICH focused on ‘Soft Power and Varied Impacts’, in which Dr Christopher Ankersen, Chief, Security and Safety Section Bangkok / Security Advisor, Thailand, UN Department of Safety and Security as a panelist contributed.
His pointwise summarized presentation was based on ‘Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination Disaster Preparedness and Response’. Below are the major points and themes he covered in his presentation;
WHAT IS SOFT-POWER?
“Soft power is the ability to affect the behavior of others by influencing their preferences.”
“pull power, not push power”
(Joseph Nye 2004)
HOW DOES IT WORK?
Based on a theory of action
“In situation S, to achieve consequence C, do action A.”
“After a disaster, to influence the behaviour of others, provide assistance.”
WHAT ARE ITS ELEMENTS?
civilian instruments of national security - diplomacy, strategic communications, foreign assistance, civic action and economic reconstruction and development.”
(Robert Gates 2011)
WHAT DOES ONE GET OUT OF IT?
Currencies of soft-power:
gratitude
admiration
shared-ideals
(Melissa Forster 2015)
SOME CONSIDERATIONS
Power to do what?
Does it ‘scale’? Is it robust?
How do we measure it?
What does it cost?
What about competition?
WHAT IS HUMANITARIANISM?
(UN General Assembly 2011)
CONCERNS
Perceptions of militarization of the humanitarian space
“…we have the best relationship with the NGOs who are such a force multiplier for us, such an important part of our combat team.”
(Colin Powell 2001)
CONCERNS
There is a need for principled humanitarian action.
“There are multiple pressures on humanitarian actors to compromise humanitarian principles, such as providing humanitarian aid as part of efforts to achieve political ends.”
WHAT IS THE NEED FOR CM-COORD?
Recognition of key role militaries play through their ability to rapidly mobilize and deploy unique assets and expertise in response to specifically identified requirements.
Imperative to respect host country sovereignty and lead role in response.
WHAT IS HUMANITARIAN CM-COORD?
Facilitates dialogue & interaction between civilian and military actors [in order to]
protect/promote humanitarian principles
avoid competition
minimize inconsistency when appropriate, pursue common goals
WHO DOES IT AND WHAT IS IT?
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (OCHA)
Dialogue
Information exchange
Negotiations in critical areas
Guidance
Monitoring activity
UPCOMING INITIATIVES
Development of Common Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination Standards
