What is the relationship between interventions and power?
All interventions must consider the local governing authorities and how to work with them. It is a constant challenge that must be navigated in all interventions. It is not possible to avoid this interaction, so it is crucial to take it seriously.
Resources represent power or sources of power. When resources enter a context, they become a part of the local power structure.
Local governing authorities understand local power, how to get it, shape it, and use it. They will always attempt to make use of resources entering their area to bolster their power. This does not mean they will steal or divert resources, though those are possibilities. They will find ways to interact with the resources and the providers of resources that give them some access to the power that resources represent.
Often the authorities—whether civilian or military—are part of a conflict.[1] Their interactions with interventions are shaped by their desire for power and military/strategic advantage. They can exert their control through suppression and violence (or the threat of violence). They might exploit the labor and wealth of communities for their personal power.
The legitimacy of their claim to authority over the communities under their control can be questionable.
An intervention can reinforce the illegitimate power of a governing authority. How does this happen?
Local authorities can misuse resources by:
- Stealing, taxing, or diverting an intervention’s goods for use in their pursuit of war or power
- Determining where and when an intervention’s resources can be delivered, thereby affecting population movements and concentrations
- Using interactions with international personnel to convey their “message” to the world thus gaining sympathy, resources and broader legitimacy
- Interacting with interveners to create the appearance of serving the interests of local people without actually doing so
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Related Topics
Critical Detail: Targeting – Who receives the benefits?
Critical Detail: Resources – What do we provide?
Critical Detail: Staffing – Who is hired?
Using the Six Critical Details
Critical Detail Mapping
Lesson 5: The details of interventions matter
[1] “Often the authorities—whether civilian or military—are part of a conflict.”
These conflicts need not be openly violent.
