Deconstructing ‘Troops for Influence’: A First Attempt at Revealing the Anatomy of the Acclaimed ‘Troops for Influence’- Assumption

Sammanfattning: Having notoriously escaped the operation table to be cut open for a full intestine check-up, the anatomy of the acclaimed ‘troops for influence’- assumption finally faces a full body search. Although appearing to be somewhat of a tacitly accepted ‘truth’ both in the academic and political world, there is confusion as to how we might actually understand the assumption of ‘troops for influence’ and what it entails, as no one seems to have a clear image of how to address it. So how can we understand the assumption of ‘troops for influence’? The aim of the thesis is to develop preliminary conceptual building-blocks and a tentative analytical model as a basis for the future development of a ‘troops for influence’-theory. Through a building-block procedure, the assumption will be deconstructed and possible ways to understand and define its various components: ‘troops’ and ‘influence’ sought. Thereinafter, attention will be brought to understanding why one could expect the assumption to be valid in the first place, as well as how such a relationship might unfold in practice. As such, this thesis will constitute a pure theoretical contribution to the subject in question, illustrating the assumption by Norway’s experience in Operation EUNAVFOR Atalanta.