Publication

The Lisbon Summit in November 2010, marked the beginning of the end of NATO’s combat role in Afghanistan as part of the ISAF mission. The new Strategic Concept indicates that the Alliance will continue to undertake similar operations in the near future. However, a number of factors combine to suggest that this will not necessarily be the case. As a result, a new rationale for the Alliance is now needed. Indeed, there are signs that the Alliance has already reconciled itself with this fact, and begun to move towards a new basis for its continued existence.