Spatial Decision Support Systems Use in Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Analysis: Spatial Analysis for U.S. Army Civil Affairs Civil Information Management

Author

Earnest R. Lloyd

Graduation Semester and Year

2019

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Urban Planning and Public Policy

Department

Urban and Public Affairs

First Advisor

Ardeshir Anjomani

Abstract

Becoming a core U.S. military mission in 2005, Stability Operations deals with the political, economic, social and structural resiliency of a county or region. It is conducted to support and develop a host nation's government, or to initiate governmental services in a non-governed area until the host nation can do so itself. Inherent in this is the provision of public goods, whether the military is the principal provider or to understand the relative public good provision levels within a given area. This understanding is known as situational awareness of the operational environment (OE), a significant issue for any military commander and staff. An integrated geographical representation of key socio-economic factors within the OE is required. Known as the Stability common operational picture (Stability COP), creating it is problematic. The general characteristics of socio-economic data are not readily practical for meaningful presentation and integration through layers in a geographic information system (GIS). Many of the inputs for a Stability COP are recorded in a qualitative format, creating additional sets of analysis problems. The purpose is to develop a procedure for collating, processing and analyzing/evaluating quantitative and qualitative socio-economic data for a Stability COP. This study integrates the techniques of context analysis, spatial statistical analysis, and spatial decision support systems (SDSS) within a geographic information system (GIS) platform. Since the study centers around the theoretical foundations from the fields of economics and public administration/urban planning, the result is a hybrid joint Content Analysis – Conglomeration - Multicriteria Decision Analysis SDSS method. Because of the cross-disciplinary nature of the research, the literature review references documents ranging from military strategy texts, manuals and articles and journals/texts discussing content analysis, spatial analysis, and SDSS. The study is a mixed methods development case study of the Iraqi operational environment after the 2007-2008 Surge and the decision of where the U.S. Army's main effort of Stability Operations would be located. Finally, implementation of such a CIM procedure creates policy implications for military force development to realize the Stability COP capability. This study adds to the body of knowledge in the areas of military analysis, Peacekeeping/Stability Operations and Spatial Decision Support Systems. Overall, this research is a synthesis of many earlier unconnected techniques to achieve the goal of a geographically integrated Stability Operations analysis.

Keywords

Spatial decision support systems, Stability operations, Spatial analysis

Disciplines

Architecture | Urban, Community and Regional Planning

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

Recommended Citation

Lloyd, Earnest R., "Spatial Decision Support Systems Use in Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Analysis: Spatial Analysis for U.S. Army Civil Affairs Civil Information Management" (2019). Planning Dissertations. 46.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/planning_dissertations/46