Tekijät

• Prime Minister's Office. VNTEAS Afghanistan - Research Consortium

Asiasanat

civilians, defence and state security policy, development, foreign policy, international conflict resolution, international cooperation, international organizations, international relations, military operations, peace, political crises, social influence

Sisällön kuvaus

The data consists of interviews with crisis management actors, in which they talk about Finland's crisis management activities in international crisis management operations related to Afghanistan during the period of 2002-2021. The interviewees covered the administrative sectors and central agencies that are central to crisis management, as well as a period of two decades. The data was collected by the VNTEAS Afghanistan Research Consortium coordinated by the Prime Minister's Office. The study focuses on the results, impact and effectiveness of Finland's activities and how this has been assessed.

Three different interview frames were set up for the interviewees, each guided by its own main question, depending on the interviewee's position. In addition, the interview questions were influenced by the period under consideration. The first interview frame (1b) relates to the impact of the Afghanistan crisis management participation at home country level, in particular in terms of capacity, skills development and cooperation between authorities. The next interview frame (1c) concerns the impact of the crisis management participation on Finland's international influence in the EU and NATO as well as in bilateral relations. The final interview frame (1d) examines how Finland has been able to contribute to the development of international crisis management through its participation in Afghanistan.

In the interview framework 1d, the interviewees were first asked about their background and their work in international crisis management. They were also asked about their involvement in international crisis management development processes, followed by a description of Finland's participation in these processes during a given period. For example, in the period surrounding the 2009 elections (period 2), they were asked whether the contents of Finland's comprehensive crisis management strategy were involved in the development process. The next question asked which perspectives Finland has contributed to the development processes, and why. More specifically, questions were asked about content related to humanitarian aid, peacekeeping and the role of women, for example. In addition, the extent to which conflict sensitivity and the Do No Harm principle have been involved in the development of Finland's international crisis management was asked. Finally, questions were asked about Finnish cooperation with the authorities, successes and achievements, as well as perceived challenges in Finland's involvement in the development of crisis management.

Background information included the interviewee's occupation. The data were organised into an easy to use HTML version at FSD.