Partant des incidents (Carré Nissor, 2007; Abu Grahib, 2004) ayant amené les services de sécurités privés à l'avant-scène médiatique durant le conflit irakien des années 2000, cette recherche se concentre sur le développement de ces derniers au sein des zones de conflits en Afghanistan et en Irak. En explorant la littérature existante, les nombreux questionnements subsistants donnèrent naissance aux fondements de cette recherche : Qu'en est-il du Canada? Quelles tâches sont sous-traiéees par le Canada à cette industrie? Et plus important encore : Comment le Canada encadre-t-il cette industrie? Faisant le choix de centrer la problématique sur cet encadrement, le chercheur adopte une approche politico-administrative afin d'adresser la situation selon l'angle de l'acteur ayant le plus d'influence, soit le gouvernement canadien. La recherche s'amorce par un détour conceptuel analysant les approches utilisées pour étudier cette industrie, la nature de cette dernière et les fonctions lui étant dévolues. De nombreuses approches sont utilisées pour aborder cette industrie, certaines axées sur les aspects légaux, d'autres sur les impacts sur le domaine militaire ou encore sur les répercussions de l'arrivée de ce "nouveau" joueur sur la scène internationale. Par la suite, l'auteur fait un détour important afin de situer les concepts et la nature de l'industrie et des compagnies qui la compose. On apprend ainsi que cette industrie se définit à la fois selon les types de services offerts et la nature commerciale des compagnies. De nombreuses différences sont notables entre les entreprises composant cette industrie, entre celles fournissant des services logistiques ou celles possédant d'imposantes capacités de projection de la force létale, ou encore entre celles étant des multinationales jouant sur divers échiquiers et celles fondées pour des contrats particuliers. Afin de procéder à une réflexion pertinente sur l'usage canadien de l'industrie des services militarisés, l'auteur s'impose l'étude de l'état de la réflexion sur l'emploi de cette industrie par les gouvernements britannique et américain. En ressortent, le difficile questionnement sur la méthode d'encadrement à adopter, des risques du laisser-aller, des besoins de surveillance de l'exécution des contrats en théâtre d'opérations, des risques de fraudes, des failles législatives relatives aux actions prisent par le personnel civil employé, etc. Le portrait dresse des conclusions tirées par ces États souligne nombre de risques devant être considérés dans le recours au personnel privé pour combler les besoins au sein des zones de combats. L'étude du cas canadien se doit de commencer par un état des lieux de la sous-traitance canadienne. Celui-ci est essentiellement obtenu grâce à une demande d'accès à l'information listant les contrats ayant été octroyés dans le cadre du conflit en Afghanistan par les ministères de la Défense nationale et des Affaires étrangères et du Commerce international. L'étude se concentre par la suite sur le processus contractuel ainsi que l'approche officielle du gouvernement canadien soit le respect des engagements contenus dans le Document de Montreux. Finalement, la recherche procède à l'analyse des risques reliés aux tâches et de la politique, en ébauche, du Ministère de la Défense nationale sur le recours aux sous-traitants en zone de conflit.

This paper evaluates the differences between U.S. multilateralism within ad hoc coalitions and U.S. multilateralism within permanent institutions – specifically NATO, the only standing defense alliance with which the U.S. is involved – within the context of the war in Afghanistan's COIN operations. Specifically, this work contrasts the strategies of Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), the portion of the war that was undertaken by U.S. forces and a coalition of allies, and the operations of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), which were defined by U.S. cooperation with NATO. Along with contrasting the overarching strategies of OEF and ISAF, this thesis evaluates the tactical differences between the two operations as they presented themselves within two pairs of tactical maneuvers: OEF Operation Red Wings vs. ISAF Operation Siege of Sangin and OEF Operation Eastern Resolve II vs. ISAF Operation Panther’s Claw.

This thesis considers Michael Ignatieff’s theory regarding ethnic conflict and applies Afghanistan as a case study. Ignatieff correlates the outbreak of ethnic violence to the breakdown of state government which creates societal anarchy and war. Ignatieff argues that ethnic relations can improve through the creation of democratic institutions. Afghanistan represents a model empirical case study to explore the central tenets of the Ignatieff thesis. Ignatieff’s argument is critically analyzed by assessing the viability of transplanting democratic institutions into Afghanistan. According to democratic theory a successful democracy requires a strong economy, a vibrant civil society, an advantageous institutional history and a positive security and geopolitical environment. Based on these five key variables it is reasonable to conclude that Afghanistan is not predisposed to pluralistic governance. Such analysis highlights the limitations of Ignatieff’s thesis as his theory is only relevant to those post-conflict societies that possess the requisite preconditions for democracy.

Cette thèse s’intéresse à l’agentivité des femmes et à la participation de ces dernières aux efforts visant la cessation des hostilités et la consolidation de la paix suite à un conflit armé. Ce travail porte une attention particulière aux obstacles rencontrés par celles désirant participer aux négociations formelles ainsi qu’aux stratégies qu’elles emploient pour les surmonter alors qu’elles sont exclues des modes traditionnels du pouvoir. Trois processus de paix tenus à la suite des conflits en Bosnie, au Burundi et en Afghanistan seront analysés afin d’identifier les divers obstacles auxquelles elles sont confrontées et d’illustrer les stratégies mises en œuvre par celles-ci afin de faire valoir leurs objectifs pour la paix. Ce travail souligne l’apport indéniable des femmes aux efforts de paix et argumente en faveur d’une inclusion systématique de ces dernières dans l’ensemble des initiatives de stabilisation et de reconstruction post-conflictuelles.

Improvement in information sharing and communication about the foreign aid resources between the donors and the aid-recipient countries have always been considered very important. In recent years, the integration of advanced technology in the area of aid coordination has received a tremendous amount of attention. The following thesis studies the influence of technology in the area aid coordination within the context of Afghanistan. Guided by the Actor-Network Theory, the thesis examines how the social and technological aspects of the Development Assistance Database (DAD), as an advanced aid information management technology, influences aid coordination and information sharing between the donors and the government of Afghanistan. Using a case study methodology, the research also investigates whether or not the DAD adheres to the principles of aid effectiveness. The findings reveal that although technology had a profound impact in the area of aid management in Afghanistan, there are several areas that still face challenges. The present study highlights these challenges and recommends the appropriate solutions.

Although different studies have been conducted on various aspects of the National Solidarity Program (NSP) in Afghanistan, research on strengthening solidarity and social cohesion through its participatory approach has received little attention. This research used development communication as a theoretical framework to understand the role of participatory communication in strengthening solidarity and social cohesion in Afghanistan. The study employed a qualitative case study. To this end, the study used semi-structured interviews via email and telephone with 10 participants. Thematic analysis was used to code and categorize the data. The study findings show that the NSP appears to promote participation and increase collectiveness among the Afghan people, which, in turn, seem to strengthen solidarity and social cohesion. Finally, future research areas are discussed in the light of these findings.

The purpose of this study is to examine the utility of a just war explanation in understanding Canada’s decision to enter into the war in Afghanistan. It examines Canada’s three phases of the war under the lens of jus ad bellum. The concentration is upon jus ad bellum’s core criteria of legitimate authority, public declaration of intent, just cause, last resort, reasonable chance of success and proportionality and then applies it to the three phases. By examining Canada’s international role, paying close attention to Canada’s association with the UN, NATO and its ally status with the United State are important explanations of why Canada entered into the Afghanistan war. This analysis strives to provide a holistic comprehension by exploring the utility of an ignored body of explanation and extrapolates from this analysis the contemporary use of jus ad bellum.

This thesis considers Michael Ignatieff’s theory regarding ethnic conflict and applies Afghanistan as a case study. Ignatieff correlates the outbreak of ethnic violence to the breakdown of state government which creates societal anarchy and war. Ignatieff argues that ethnic relations can improve through the creation of democratic institutions. Afghanistan represents a model empirical case study to explore the central tenets of the Ignatieff thesis. Ignatieff’s argument is critically analyzed by assessing the viability of transplanting democratic institutions into Afghanistan. According to democratic theory a successful democracy requires a strong economy, a vibrant civil society, an advantageous institutional history and a positive security and geopolitical environment. Based on these five key variables it is reasonable to conclude that Afghanistan is not predisposed to pluralistic governance. Such analysis highlights the limitations of Ignatieff’s thesis as his theory is only relevant to those post-conflict societies that possess the requisite preconditions for democracy.

Doctor of Philosophy (Economics) / This dissertation asks how foreign assistance to one or both sides in a civil war affects the dynamics of the conflict. This overarching question is subsequently divided into two further questions: 1) how does foreign intervention affect the capabilities of the recipient, and 2) how does this affect the nature of the warfare. The puzzle for the first is that the impact of foreign intervention on combat effectiveness frequently varies significantly between recipients. This variation is explained by recipients’ different abilities to convert the inputs of foreign intervention into the outputs of fighting capability. The nature of the warfare in civil war will change in line with the balance of military capabilities between the belligerents. The balance of capabilities will be responsible for the form of warfare at a particular place and time whether it be conventional, irregular or guerrilla/counter-guerrilla. The argument is then illustrated with two extensive case studies, of civil wars in Angola and Afghanistan, where temporal and spatial variation in the type of warfare is shown to correlate with the type, degree, and direction of foreign intervention.

Thesis (MPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.