We're close to making "COIN" into a pseudo-science, (some already have) and we need to start getting rid of some of the rubbish attached to that. IMO, ditch the "cultural competence/understanding" stuff and instead boil it down to:

Language training (3 levels)
RELEVANT Local beliefs, customs and courtesies.
Wilf

Stan and I were immersed in this stuff for decades. We still are. I agree that some take it too far. We need to tone it down to make it achievable and relevant. I have taught this on the platform and mentored it in the field.

Local beliefs, customs, and courtesies are the exterior trappings of what is important. If you miss those it makes communication and understanding difficult. If you only teach those, you only get the dog's bark and not why the dog is barking.

The basic rules to me remain:

1. they don't think like you
2. everything they do with, for, or to you is agenda driven

I can then hang the language, customs, etc on the framework and start to understand the effects of these things, the reasons for them, and then the golden ring--what they are likely to do next.

Best
Tom