Mission Afghanistan: Who Bears the Heaviest Burden

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature concerning burden sharing in specific crisis response operations. We provide a quantitative expression of burden-sharing behaviour of the NATO and Non-NATO allies during the International Security Assistance Forces operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2010. We conclude that the military contribution of the United States, as expressed by the average number deployed, surpasses the total contributions of the NATO EU and Non-NATO countries. However, the relative contribution of the United Kingdom, as expressed in terms of relative population size and Gross Domestic Product exceeds the contribution of the United States. We also conclude that the relative numbers of casualties of the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Canada exceed the burden of the United States.