Occupational Hazards: Why Military Occupations Succeed or Fail

Overview

David Edelstein of Georgetown University offers a theoretical and empirical explanation for why some military occupations succeed and others fail. Edelstein’s examination of twenty-four occupations since the Napoleonic Wars, including the highly successful post–World War II occupations of Germany and Japan, yields two main and perhaps paradoxical findings: occupations are generally likely to succeed only if they are lengthy; extended occupations, however, are likely to produce nationalist reactions that can stymie an occupation’s chances of success. Given these findings, Edelstein is pessimistic about U.S. chances of success in Iraq.