UN peace operations have greatly expanded over the past couple of years. What started with simple observer missions has slowly but steadily evolved into far-reaching operations in which the UN takes on a major role within the administration of countries. The effects of this expansion have, however, …

At the moment this article is being written Ukrainian troops are fighting a fierce battle for the fourth day running to protect their capital Kyiv against Russian troops. Developments in the 2022 Russo-Ukrainian armed conflict are moving fast. The world was shocked when, after proclaiming the independence …

Military involvement in foreign policy decision-making, and its role as a driving force in that process, has long been anathema to both academic and practitioner circles. Without wanting to pursue the quest for principles or ultimate predictions this study looks specifically into the role of the military …

Following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the conflict in the southeast region of Ukraine, NATO deployed four battlegroups to Poland and the Baltic States. The Netherlands contributes troops to the battlegroup in Lithuania, which considers itself a ‘front state’ against the Russian Federation. …

Unconventional crises have gained the upper hand in todays international security environment. The numbers of Special Operations Forces (SOF) that most Western militaries have at their disposal do deal with these types of crises are limited; therefore increasingly regular troops are used to fill the …

The deep political and security crisis in Iraq can only be described as a failed SSR effort. Since the U.S. led invasion of 2003, became the Stabilization Force in Iraq (SFIR) responsible for the reformation of the Iraqi SS. The present Iraqi security circumstances show that since the last U.S. troops …

In maart 2011 dreigde Muammer Gaddafi van Libya duizenden onschuldige burgers van de stad Benghazi uit hun huizen te halen om hen te vermoorden. De Veiligheidsraad van de Verenigde Naties verwees de situatie door naar het Internationaal Strafhof in Den Haag, dwong een no-flyzone af en gaf de NAVO een …

Trust is of key importance in the military organization. Imagine, for example, a military convoy making its way along the dirt roads of Uruzgan, a province in southern Afghanistan. The threat of improvised explosive devices in such a situation is all around and the safety of the convoy depends entirely …

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The Dutch Armed forces have seen an enormous change during the last fifteen years. Peace keeping and enforcing have become the major tasks. The amount of troops and equipment has dwindled, so did the yearly budget. The decline of military means is defended by the thesis that quality is more important …