Disputas Margrethe Haug
Master i sosialantropologi Margrethe Haug disputerer for ph.d.-graden i humaniora og samfunnsvitenskap og vil offentlig forsvare avhandlingen:
«The Afghan National Army’s (ANA) Nation-Building Potential: Expectations, Experiences, and Disappointments»
Prøveforelesning over oppgitt emne:
Provide an account of military anthropology and the ethnography of the military in comparative perspective
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Veildere
Hovedveileder førsteamanuensis dr.polit. Bror Olsen, UiT Norges arktiske universitet
Biveileder Dr. Trine Eide, Kinn kommune
Bedømmelseskomité
Første opponent: Professor PhD Robert A. Rubinstein. Syracuse University, USA.
Andre opponent: Research Professor PhD Antonio de Lauri. Chr. Michelsen Institute.
Faglig leder av komiteen: Research Professor PhD Brigt Dale. Nordland Research Institute.
Administrativ leder av komiteen: Emeriti dr.philos. Tor Dahl-Eriksen. UiT Norges arktiske universitet.
Disputasleder
Professor og nestleder ved institutt for samfunnsvitenskap, Stine Willum Adrian
Populærvitenskapelig sammendrag:
Following the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States in 2001, the international community with the UN and NATO in lead, embarked on an ambitious state-building project in Afghanistan. At the center of this project was the formation of an all-volunteer Afghan national army, envisioned as a non-factional, ethnically inclusive, and united national force, dedicated to serve and protect all the people of Afghanistan.
This thesis – which is based on one year of ethnographic fieldwork among ANA personnel – offers empirical insights into the Afghan National Army’s (ANA) potential for nation-building, by exploring why Afghans chose to join the ANA, their experiences of becoming ANA soldiers, and why some of them chose to leave the Army. Taking ANA soldiers' military experiences as a starting point, this thesis examines the possibilities and constraints of using an army institution to foster a sense of unity, solidarity, and a shared identity among a diverse group of soldiers, within a society shaped by traditional Afghan socio-political structures and an ongoing war against a growing Taliban insurgency.
This thesis also offers insights and reflections on conducting ethnographic research as a female anthropologist with a military background, assisted by local interpreters, on a non-western military institution under construction while actively engaged in war.