The Military in an Interagency Collaboration: A Ugandan Perspective on Conflict Management in Civil-Military Relations

This article presents original research examining the strategic framework for interagency cooperation between the Uganda People's Defence Forces (UPDF) and the National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) to combat rural poverty through sustainable agricultural modernisation. The establishment of Operation Wealth Creation (OWC) reflects the government’s response to inefficiencies in NAADS, aiming to stabilise service delivery through military strategic intervention. The study employed exploratory mixed methods research, including 26 qualitative interviews (12 with NAADS and 14 with UPDF personnel), a range of published and unpublished documents, and 174 valid quantitative survey responses (101 from NAADS and 73 from UPDF personnel), supported by datasets from the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture and the World Bank's World Development Indicators website. While this civil-military collaboration has produced positive outcomes, it also raises concerns about over-reliance on military support. The experiences of UPDF officers reveal initial conflicts arising from differing organisational doctrines and cultural misunderstandings, which gradually gave way to cooperation as socialisation occurred. Similarly, NAADS civilians faced challenges related to resource allocation and communication, but recognised the supportive intentions of UPDF personnel. This study highlights the importance of prior trust-building and clear operational frameworks to facilitate effective interagency collaboration, ultimately emphasising the need for a balanced approach that complements civil authority while harnessing military capabilities for socio-economic development.