Larry D. Lauer

This week I attended a forum on national security at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). One of the sessions that impressed me most touched on the question of who is responsible for rebuilding societies torn apart by war and revolution?

It seems obvious to me that the decision to participate in war raises the basic question: “If you break it, do you own it?”  In the past, this question was rarely considered.  But it’s clear today that many uprooted nations desperately need rebuilding…physically, economically, culturally, and institutionally. But who should be responsible?

Should it be the responsibility of the damaged nation to rebuild itself? Or should it be the responsibility of the attacking country? Or can some kind of public-private partnership be formed to do the job? Or could an internationally funded NGO take on this enormous task?

This CSIS session got me thinking about the feasibility of creating a quasi-governmental organization to take on the task. Such an organization would combine legislature allocated funds with additional international and private funds to do the job. Globally engaged universities could also make significant contributions to the effort.

Regular readers of my blog are aware that I have been pointing out for a long time that the entire higher education industry is quickly becoming a global one. Over time more university talent and resources will inevitably get focused on helping solve many of the world’s problems. And this talent literally ranges all the way from public health to city management, and everything in between.

Further more, helping to launch such an initiative might be just the opportunity the US needs to rebuild much of its international credibility. If the US coordinated the planning, and the unique cultural and historical heritage of the devastated society would be preserved, all those charges over the years of American imperialism might finally begin to get put to rest.