This edited volume empirically maps and theorises NATO-ISAFâs contribution to peacebuilding and reconstruction in Afghanistan. The book provides a contextual framework of the NATO participation in Afghanistan; it offers an outline of the security situation in Afghanistan and discusses geopolitical historical and military factors that are related to it. It argues that a general underlying factor is that although the stated goals of the Afghanistan mission may be similarly formulated across the ISAF coalition that are a great number of differences in the nature of coalition membersâ political calculations and share of the burden and that this induces a dynamic of alliance politics that state actors attempt to either mitigate navigate or exploit - depending on their interests and views. The book asks why there are differences in countriesâ share of the burden; how they manifest in different approaches; and how the actual performance of different members of the coalition ought to be assessed. It argues that understanding this offers clues as to what does not work in current state-building efforts beyond individual countriesâ experiences and the more general critique of statebuilding philosophy and practice. This book answers key questions through a series of case studies which together form a comparative study of national contributions to the multilateral mission in Afghanistan. In so doing it provides a uniquely sensitive analysis that can help explain coalition contributions from various countries. It will be of great interest to students of Afghanistan Asian politics peacebuilding statebuilding war and conflict studies IR and Security Studies generally. . Language: English