Stabilization, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations
Encyclopedia
Stabilization, Security, Transition, and Reconstruction Operations (SSTRO) are a U.S. Department of Defense doctrinal concept. They are military operations designed to establish a safe, secure environment and simultaneously work with inter-agency, coalition, multinational, and host nation partners to support the establishment of a new domestic social order
in countries where a national government
is:
A triggering shock can seriously exacerbate the already difficult situation, producing widespread suffering
, growing popular grievance
, and often civil unrest, all of which can be intensified by several interrelated factors: the absence of key government
functions, widespread lawlessness
, poor economic performance, pronounced economic disparities, and in some cases, a serious external threat
.
Once such difficult conditions emerge, the drivers of instability and conflict tend to reinforce one another, creating a degenerating cycle in which conditions continue to deteriorate, and the feelings of insecurity
and the grievance
s of the local population intensify. Without a countervailing force to break this cycle, these developments can eventually destabilize the interlinked political, economic, and social systems
that make up the fabric of a society
.
Social order
Social order is a concept used in sociology, history and other social sciences. It refers to a set of linked social structures, social institutions and social practices which conserve, maintain and enforce "normal" ways of relating and behaving....
in countries where a national government
Central government
A central government also known as a national government, union government and in federal states, the federal government, is the government at the level of the nation-state. The structure of central governments varies from institution to institution...
is:
- weakWeakWeak is a generic adjective pertaining to a general state of feebleness, a lack of strength, durability, or vigor.- Music :* "Weak" , a song by SWV* "Weak" , a song by Skunk Anansie...
- corruptPolitical corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
- incompetent
- has no governing authority
A triggering shock can seriously exacerbate the already difficult situation, producing widespread suffering
Suffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
, growing popular grievance
Grievance
A grievance is a wrong or hardship suffered, which is the grounds of a complaint.-History and politics:A grievance may arise from injustice or tyranny, and be cause for rebellion or revolution....
, and often civil unrest, all of which can be intensified by several interrelated factors: the absence of key government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
functions, widespread lawlessness
Lawlessness
Lawlessness may be:* lack of law, in any of the various senses of that word ;* chaos;* anomie;* anarchy;* anarchism* anarchism* randomness;* antinomianism;...
, poor economic performance, pronounced economic disparities, and in some cases, a serious external threat
Threat
Threat of force in public international law is a situation between states described by British lawyer Ian Brownlie as:The 1969 Vienna convention on the Law of Treaties notes in its preamble that both the threat and the use of force are prohibited...
.
Once such difficult conditions emerge, the drivers of instability and conflict tend to reinforce one another, creating a degenerating cycle in which conditions continue to deteriorate, and the feelings of insecurity
Insecurity
Insecurity is a feeling of general unease or nervousness that may be triggered by perceiving of oneself to be vulnerable in some way, or a sense of vulnerability or instability which threatens one's self-image or ego....
and the grievance
Grievance
A grievance is a wrong or hardship suffered, which is the grounds of a complaint.-History and politics:A grievance may arise from injustice or tyranny, and be cause for rebellion or revolution....
s of the local population intensify. Without a countervailing force to break this cycle, these developments can eventually destabilize the interlinked political, economic, and social systems
Social systems
Social system is a central term in sociological systems theory. The term draws a line to ecosystem, biological organisms, psychical systems and technical systems. They all form the environment of social systems. Minimum requirements for a social system is interaction of at least two personal...
that make up the fabric of a society
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
.