Can NATO Learn Afghan Lessons? A Comparative Investigation of Multilateral Political-Military Change

This project will investigate a question central to the special program 5 of the Gerda Henkel Stiftung – Security Strategies between Doctrine Formation and Implementation, namely the question of whether the long and important security engagement of NATO allies in Afghanistan will now translate into new security doctrine by way of lessons learned processes. The key words here concern doctrine formation, multilateral learning, and competing schools of thought especially in regards to crisis management and the interface between traditional and human security issues. For NATO allies, it is a matter of connecting security practice to doctrine formation at a moment when new priorities appear on the horizon and enable contested ideas; for the wider academic and policy community, it is a matter of understanding further the processes through which strategic priorities change and connect to policy. Both are matters of acute relevance.The project has been designed as a larger research project. Its central question breaks down into three distinct research tasks, and it involves a post-doc position in addition to the principal investigator (PI). With this application to the Gerda Henkel Stiftung the PI seeks funding for his own operational expenses – in order to secure a foundation for the work and enable its contribution to societal concerns. Funding of PI operational expenses by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung would in particular ensure research outcomes in respect to all three of the research tasks: concretely, one article on NATO and human security, one on NATO and strategic learning, and then dissemination and impact activities. The PI commits to this research and its outcomes in the event of funding by the Gerda Henkel Foundation. Naturally, if the PI succeeds in obtaining additional funding from other sources, the research project and outcomes will grow. However, with Gerda Henkel Stiftung funding there would be a sufficient critical foundation to meaningfully carry out core tasks within the project.

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