ABOUT THE CENTER FOR STABILIZATION AND RECONSTRUCTION STUDIES

The Center for Stabilization and Reconstruction Studies (CSRS) is a practitioner-oriented teaching program located at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. The purpose of the Center is to provide educational opportunities for the full-spectrum of actors that become involved in peacebuilding, peace & stability operations, and relief & development activities. CSRS accomplishes this purpose through a wide variety of short programs, including workshops, games/table top exercises, conferences and applied research initiatives. The Center also enriches the regular graduate degree programs at the university.

Contemporary stability and reconstruction operations are conducted by a wide assortment of international actors that have different purposes, motivations, organizational structures, and methods of operation. These differences make it extremely difficult for the actors to work effectively in the same space to strengthen the institutions of local government, provide for the basic needs of at risk populations, develop the elements of civil society necessary to keep governments responsive to their people, and foster conditions for societal healing and forgiveness.

CSRS considers the international actors falling into four broad communities:

• US and non-US Armed Forces (including police);
• Government civilian agencies, such as the US State Department and US Agency for International Development, and their non-US counterparts;
• Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) (relief and development groups, civil society groups, etc.);
• Inter-governmental organizations (IGOs) (e.g. the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, NATO, the European Union, the African Union, etc.).

CSRS programs are designed to be of value to all the diverse actors at the same time and involve representatives from each of the communities as participants. The notion is that greater cross-community understanding, collective problem-solving and professional networking will equip individuals to be more effective in their particular roles.

The Naval Postgraduate School is a fully-accredited graduate university funded primarily by the U.S. Departments of State, Defense, and Homeland Security and operated by the educational component of the U.S. Navy. The university's main campus is in Monterey, California, on the grounds of the historic Del Monte Resort. At the university, CSRS is situated within the Center for Civil-Military Relations, a broad teaching and research consortium.