Keeping the Americans in

The fundamental inquiry that motivates this book is to illuminate in what way, and to what extent, NATO s operations in Afghanistan have affected the Alliance. More specifically, how NATO has adapted to American initiatives of transformation in light of the war in Afghanistan, and the American paradigm of War on Terror. The question I strive to answer is whether Afghanistan specifically, and the War on Terror in general, has wielded a dividing or unifying effect upon the Alliance. I do so by studying the political, organizational and military impact of its Afghan engagement on NATO. I analyze changes within the alliance in regard to these three dimensions, and the Alliance's process of transformation between 2001 and 2010. All in reference to the War on Terror as the US's ruling security paradigm and NATO's involvement in Afghanistan. The main audience for the book is students and scholars of poltical science and international relations.

Autorentext

Thomas Vestgarden holds a Bachelor in Political Science and Human Rights from the University College of Buskerud (2007), and a Master of Political Science from the University of Oslo (2011). His Master's Thesis was written as part of a research project called "NATO in a changing world" at the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies.