Security Force Assistance (SFA) operations have increasingly become the cornerstone of NATO’s foreign interventionism. Logically, the great powers of the Alliance would be expected to be the...Show moreSecurity Force Assistance (SFA) operations have increasingly become the cornerstone of NATO’s foreign interventionism. Logically, the great powers of the Alliance would be expected to be the primary contributors to NATO SFA missions. Yet, middle and smaller powers appear to be the main troop providers to these operations. This research project aims to investigate how the quest for international reputation impacts the participation of middle powers in NATO SFA operations. This objective is achieved by taking the participation of Italy in NATO’s Resolute Support Mission (RSM) in Afghanistan and NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) as a case study. This paper reaches two main findings. First, Italy participated in RSM and NMI to enhance its reputation within NATO and within the broader international community, rather than out of strictly security motives. Second, when Italian policymakers employed stronger reputation-related rhetoric, they deployed a higher number of troops to the selected operations. This study concludes that middle powers that seek to enhance their international reputation participate in NATO SFA operations through higher troop deployments.Show less
