1st Edition
Statebuilding in Afghanistan Multinational Contributions to Reconstruction
This edited volume empirically maps and theorises NATO-ISAF’s contribution to peacebuilding and reconstruction in Afghanistan. The book provides a contextual framework of the NATO participation in Afghanistan; it offers an outline of the security situation in Afghanistan and discusses geopolitical, historical, and military factors that are related to it.
It argues that a general underlying factor is that although the stated goals of the Afghanistan mission may be similarly formulated across the ISAF coalition, that are a great number of differences in the nature of coalition members’ political calculations, and share of the burden, and that this induces a dynamic of alliance politics that state actors attempt to either mitigate, navigate, or exploit - depending on their interests and views. The book asks why there are differences in countries’ share of the burden; how they manifest in different approaches; and how the actual performance of different members of the coalition ought to be assessed. It argues that understanding this offers clues as to what does not work in current state-building efforts, beyond individual countries’ experiences and the more general critique of statebuilding philosophy and practice.
This book answers key questions through a series of case studies which together form a comparative study of national contributions to the multilateral mission in Afghanistan. In so doing, it provides a uniquely sensitive analysis that can help explain coalition contributions from various countries. It will be of great interest to students of Afghanistan, Asian politics, peacebuilding, statebuilding, war and conflict studies, IR and Security Studies generally.
Introduction: What Makes Coalitions S/tick? - Nik Hynek and Péter Marton 1. Operation Herrick: The British Campaign in Helmand – Anthony King 2. Germany and Regional Command-North: ISAF’s Weakest Link? - Timo Behr 3. Between Expectations and Reality: The Dutch Engagement in Uruzgan - Sebastiaan Rietjens 4. France in Kapisa: A Combined Approach to State-Building – Joshua Foust 5. Chapter on Canada – Ben Zyla 6. PRT Activity in Afghanistan: The Australian Experience - William Maley 7. The New Zealand PRT Experience in Bamyan Province: Assessing Political Legitimacy and Operational Achievements - Stephen Hoadley 8. A Peace Nation in the War on Terror: The Norwegian Engagement in Afghanistan - Kristian Berg Harpviken 9. Finland’s ISAF experience: Rewarding, Challenging and on the Edges of the Politically Feasible - Charly Salonius-Pasternak 10. Hungary’s Involvement in Afghanistan: Proudly Going through the Motions? - Péter Marton and Péter Wagner 11. From Followers to Leaders as "Coalition Servants": The Polish Engagement in Afghanistan - Łukasz Kulesa and Beata Górka-Winter 12. Post-Decisional and Alliance-Dependent: The Czech Engagement in Logar - Nik Hynek and Jan Eichler 13. Turkey’s ISAF Mission: A Maverick with Strategic Depth - Petros Vamvakas 14. Trials and Tribulations of the Lithuanian Participation in the NATO ISAF Mission – Egdunas Račius
Biography
Nik Hynek is Research Leader of the Centre for International Security at the Institute of International Relations in Prague, and Lecturer at the Metropolitan University, Prague, Czech Republic.
Péter Marton is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of International Relations, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary.
