Between Doctrine and Failure: The Political Dimension of Nato’s Comprehensive Approach in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
By: Laviniu Bojor and Laurențiu Grigore

References
- NATO. Bucharest Summit Declaration [Internet]. NATO; 2008. https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/official-texts-and-resources/official-texts/2008/04/03/bucharest-summit-declaration. Accessed January 15, 2026.
- NATO. Lisbon Summit Declaration [Internet]. 2010. https://www.nato.int/en/about-us/official-texts-and-resources/official-texts/2010/11/20/lisbon-summit-declaration. Accessed January 14, 2026.
- NATO. A “‘comprehensive approach’” to crises [Internet]. NATO; 2024. https://www.nato.int/en/what-we-do/partnerships-and-cooperation/a-comprehensive-approach-to-crises. Accessed January 14, 2026.
- Constantinescu M. Dezvoltarea rezilienței strategice a mobilității militare printr-o abordare cuprinzătoare, la nivelul întregului guvern. Gândirea Militară Românească. 2025;(3):532.
- Pătrașcu P. PMESII Structural Analysis for Enhanced Military Operations Planning. OaS. 2025;25(2):133.
- Roman D. Scenario Development in Planning Military Actions to Prevent a Crisis Situation. RMT. 2023;2023(1):108–127.
- Barnett M, Fang S, Zürcher C. The Peacebuilder’s Contract: How External State-building Reinforces Weak Statehood. The Dilemmas of Statebuilding: Confronting the Contradictions of Postwar Peace Operations. Routledge; 2009.
- Edwards LM. State-building in Afghanistan: a case showing the limits? Int rev Red Cross. 2010;92(880):967–991.
- Englehart NA. A Tale of Two Afghanistans: Comparative Governance and Insurgency in the North and South. Asian Survey. 2010;50(4):735–758.
- Hunt SL. The Origins, Organization, and Perhaps Demise of Armed Resistance to the State. Int Stud Rev. 2013;15(4):594–599.
- SIGAR. Corruption in Conflict: Lessons from the U.S. Experience in Afghanistan [Internet]. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; 2016. Report No.: SIGAR 16-58-LL. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/sigar/sigar-16-58-ll.pdf. Accessed January 18, 2026.
- Suhrke A. Statebuilding in Afghanistan: a contradictory engagement. Central Asian Survey. 2013;32(3):271–286.
- Mac Ginty R. Warlords and the liberal peace: state-building in Afghanistan. Conflict, Security & Development. 2010;10(4):577–598.
- Rangelov I, Theros M. Abuse of power and conflict persistence in Afghanistan. Conflict, Security & Development. 2012;12(3):227–248.
- Terpstra N. Rebel governance, rebel legitimacy, and external intervention: assessing three phases of Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Small Wars & Insurgencies. 2020;31(6):1143–1173.
- SIGAR. What We Need to Learn: Lessons from Twenty Years of Afghanistan Reconstruction [Internet]. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; 2021. Report No.: SIGAR 21-46-LL. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUBS-PURL-gpo159506/pdf/GOVPUB-S-PURL-gpo159506.pdf. Accessed January 19, 2026.
- SIGAR. Why the Afghan Government Collapsed [Internet]. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction; 2022. Report No.: SIGAR 23-05-IP. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GOVPUB-S-PURL-gpo220710/pdf/GOVPUBS-PURL-gpo220710.pdf. Accessed January 19, 2026.
- SIGAR. Collapse of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces: An Assessment of the Factors That Led to Its Demise [Internet]. 2022. Report No.: SIGAR 22-22-IP. https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/report/sigar/sigar-22-22-ip.pdf. Accessed January 19, 2026.
- Freeman C. Introduction: Security, Governance and Statebuilding in Afghanistan. International Peacekeeping. 2007;14(1):1–7.
- Dearing MP. Turning gangsters into allies: the American way of war in Northern Afghanistan. Small Wars & Insurgencies. 2019;30(1):101–139.
- Mukhopadhyay D. Disguised warlordism and combatant hood in Balkh: the persistence of informal power in the formal Afghan state. Conflict, Security & Development. 2009;9(4):535–564.
- Billaud J. The Making of Modern Afghanistan: Reconstruction, Transnational Governance and Gender Politics in the New Islamic Republic. Anthropology of the Middle East [Internet]. 2012;7(1). Accessed January 15, 2026.
- Beyer J. Informal order and the state in Afghanistan. Central Asian Survey. 2018;37(3):486–488.
- Monsutti A. Fuzzy Sovereignty: Rural Reconstruction in Afghanistan, between Democracy Promotion and Power Games. Comp Stud Soc Hist. 2012;54(3):563–591.
- Wilde A, Mielke K. Order, stability, and change in Afghanistan: from top-down to bottom-up state-making. Central Asian Survey. 2013;32(3):353–370.
- Mehran W. Neopatrimonialism in Afghanistan: Former Warlords, New Democratic Bureaucrats? Journal of Peacebuilding & Development. 2018;13(2):91–105.
- Malejacq R. Warlords, Intervention, and State Consolidation: A Typology of Political Orders in Weak and Failed States. Security Studies. 2016;25(1):85–110.
- Ozdemir E. Deteriorating Proximity between Liberal Peacebuilding and Counterinsurgency: Warlordism and Corruption in Afghanistan. Interventions. 2019;21(2):188–218.
- Hassan O. Afghanistan: Lessons learnt from 20 years of supporting democracy, development and security [Internet]. European Parliament, Policy Department for External Relations; 2023. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2023/702579/EXPO_STU(2023)702579_EN.pdf. Accessed January 25, 2026.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/kbo-2026-0016 | Journal eISSN: 2451-3113 (formerly 1843-6722) | Journal ISSN: 1843-6722
Language: English
Page range: 1 - 9
Published on: Jul 5, 2026
Published by: Nicolae Balcescu Land Forces Academy
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 3 issues per year
Keywords:
Related subjects:
© 2026 Laviniu Bojor, Laurențiu Grigore, published by Nicolae Balcescu Land Forces Academy
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.