The Security-Development Nexus: Slovenia's Engagement in Afghanistan
The Security-Development Nexus: Slovenia's Engagement in Afghanistan

Summary/Abstract: The paper addresses the development-security nexus through an analysis of the different interactions of the Slovenian government, which shaped its policy towards Afghanistan through parallel activities in peacekeeping and development cooperation. With its limited experiences in the field of military assistance / peacekeeping, as well as in development cooperation, Slovenia followed other NATO countries and engaged in a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan in 2004. Few years later, a stronger Slovenian involvement in development cooperation in this fragile state evolved, following again the policies of other more experienced countries, this time EU member states. The government engaged NGOs to lead the development cooperation efforts. However, the evidence from the field shows no cooperation between Slovenian peacekeeping teams and the NGOs working in the country. The paper explores the reasons for such decisions and the consequences it brings, assessing the appropriateness of the development-security nexus.

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