Description
This paper reflects upon the narratives and practices of the Norwegian military and humanitarian efforts in Afghanistan during the 2001-2014 US-led, NATO supported intervention. In particular the paper will focus on a specific civil-military project that was intended to educate anesthesia doctors and technicians at Afghan hospitals. This project was caught in between priorities of the Norwegian government and deployed, military medical personnel who wanted to make a difference on the ground. This was problematic in light of the political intention (the “Norwegian model”) to enforce a clear divide between military and civilian efforts, polarising assumptions about militaries and aid and their capacities to work with and for Afghan people and authorities. The project was to a degree caught within the power dynamics between foreign actors (both militaries and aid agencies) and local communities and authorities. In evaluating this project (which could not be completed until the Afghan doctor could get out of Afghanistan), positions of virtuousness by Norwegian actors in relation to local actors frequently reflected racialised, cultural and gendered biases by both military and aid actors, that hindered the potential success of a project with good intentions.
Keywords: Afghanistan; civil-military relations; gender politics; international security
