5 - Case Study: The Decision Path to Uruzgan

Summary

Introduction

The context in which the decision of the Netherlands to commit their armed forces to the stabilisation of the Afghan province of Uruzgan was made should largely be seen in relation to the Dutch desire to adopt a more prominent role as a reliable NATO partner and to demonstrate its ability to conduct combat operations in the volatile region of southern Afghanistan. Military alliance politics and a shared belief amongst senior civil and military decision-makers in forging a prominent role for the Netherlands in NATO's expansion into southern Afghanistan have been instrumental in the decision path that emerged.

Throughout the whole process of deciding if and how the Dutch armed forces were to contribute to the stabilisation of southern Afghanistan, several strategic decisions, such as the selection of the province and the number of troops to be deployed, were taken without having been articulated at the political level. These decisions were made at the military level, as such implicitly questioning the primacy of politics in the matter.

Before taking a closer look at the decision path that resulted in the deployment of Dutch forces to Uruzgan, the features of Dutch foreign and security politics will be explained first in order to understand the context in which the decision-makers operate the features of Dutch foreign and security politics will be explained first.

The Netherlands: A Small Power with a Desire to Make a Difference

The Netherlands is a small power with limited military capabilities. Its economic relations benefit from stable international relations and it strongly promotes the international rule of law, which it believes is fundamental for international stability. Consequently, the strategic cultural tenets of Dutch security politics are to advance the international rule of law, project stability and use the military as an instrument to boost Dutch international significance, often in support of the major player in the international order, the United States.

Even though it is problematic to identify perpetual features in Dutch foreign politics, three pillars can be distinguished: Atlanticism, Europeanism, and multilateral activities in support of the international legal order are the common denominators on which Dutch foreign and security politics is founded.