In the post 9/11-era, the Dutch government has made extensive use of special operations forces (SOF), predominantly in Afghanistan. While the importance and role of SOF continue to expand, the use...Show moreIn the post 9/11-era, the Dutch government has made extensive use of special operations forces (SOF), predominantly in Afghanistan. While the importance and role of SOF continue to expand, the use of and discourse on the deployment of Dutch SOF has received little academic attention. This thesis provides new insight into the discourse on Dutch SOF operations in Afghanistan. A discourse analysis was conducted on government discourse vis-à-vis operational accounts. Consequently, a comparative analysis was conducted to establish if, and to what extent government discourse and operational accounts have collided. This thesis argues that during the first analysed deployment, from 2006 onwards, the mission set largely aligned with operational accounts. However, this mission set did not correspond with the expertise of a SOF unit, which led to dissatisfaction among the commandos. During the second analysed deployment, from 2018 onwards, government publications provided more clarity on the nature of the mission, although some ambiguity concerning combat aspects remained. Future research is recommended on other operational phases of Dutch SOF.Show less
Tussen beleid en praktijk bespreekt hoe beleid en praktijk van militair geestelijke gezondheidszorg zich tot elkaar verhouden tijdens de uitzending van Nederlandse militairen naar Afghanistan. Er...Show moreTussen beleid en praktijk bespreekt hoe beleid en praktijk van militair geestelijke gezondheidszorg zich tot elkaar verhouden tijdens de uitzending van Nederlandse militairen naar Afghanistan. Er is aandacht voor de ontwikkeling van het beleid voor geestelijke zorg. Anderzijds worden belangrijke veteranenonderzoeken en een casus uitgewerkt om de praktijk van het beleid te analyseren.Show less
The rationale of a government’s decision to dispatch troops in order to participate in peacekeeping operations has already been at the centre of attention in the academic field of Public...Show moreThe rationale of a government’s decision to dispatch troops in order to participate in peacekeeping operations has already been at the centre of attention in the academic field of Public Administration and the study on Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) for a couple of decades. Many scholars investigated the impact of certain domestic factors on foreign policy decisions. On the contrary, the rationale of a government’s decision to withdraw its troops from a peacekeeping operation is still a destination unknown in academic literature, due to the more societal character. In order to detect what led to such a policy decision, more extensive research is needed on the role of domestic factors that exercised their influence on the policy-making process. The aim of this research is to retrospectively detect what domestic factors affected the outcome of the government’s decision to withdraw its troops from a peacekeeping operation. Much of the attention in academic literature is focussed on e.g. the role of coalition politics and the impact on a country’s foreign policy. However, not much is known yet about that role on the decision to withdraw. Therefore, the following research question is addressed: ‘To what extent does coalition politics affect a government’s decision to withdraw troops from peacekeeping operations?’ In order to answer the research question, a qualitative research design with a document-analysis method was used. Due to the societal character of the research question I chose a comparative case-study to analyse the participation and withdrawal of Dutch troops in two peacekeeping operations: The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan 2006-2010 and the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). The societal character of a government’s decision to withdraw warrants a more comprehensive approach rather than investigating the influence of only one domestic factor on its own. Therefore, the Multiple Streams Framework (MSF) was used as a theoretical lens to analyse other domestic factors next to the political context. The conclusion is that the impact depends on whether the dynamics within the Cabinet are characterized by consensus or dispute at the time of the mission. When the Cabinet finds itself in consensus on the purpose and the execution of the mission, it is more likely that if troops are withdrawn, this is due to shifting political interests and decreased added value. On the contrary, when the Cabinet finds itself in a situation of highly political disputes amongst its coalition parties, it is likely the opposition rejects further work relations in which the only option is to announce their resignation.Show less
De aard van de werkzaamheden in Uruzgan werden in de politiek in hoge mate in twijfel getrokken. Is het een vecht- of een opbouwmissie? Bij wijze van antwoord op die vraag richt de auteur zich op...Show moreDe aard van de werkzaamheden in Uruzgan werden in de politiek in hoge mate in twijfel getrokken. Is het een vecht- of een opbouwmissie? Bij wijze van antwoord op die vraag richt de auteur zich op de aard van de missie. De conclusie hierin is dat Task Force Uruzgan zich zowel met vechten als met opbouwen van het land heeft bezig gehouden. Hierna komt de hoofdvraag van het onderzoek aan bod: aangezien de aard van de missie zowel vechten als opbouwen betrof, waarom werd de discussie over de aard van de missie zo uitgebreid gevoerd? Het tweede deel van de scriptie staat in het teken van het beantwoorden van die vraag.Show less
