A meaningless war? Norwegian veterans’ meaning-making after failure in Afghanistan

Abstract This study examines Norwegian veterans’ construction of meaning of the war in Afghanistan with two main objectives. A first aim is to add empirically to research on veterans’ meaning-making, querying into veterans’ construction of meaning after failure in a recent military operation. A thematic analysis of interviews with fifteen veterans illustrates how, despite their own admission of the war’s limited overall achievements, Norwegian veterans rendered the war meaningful. They emphasised that they had done their job, realised themselves as individuals, experienced community, made a difference ‘then and there’, and served their country. Working towards a second aim – to enhance scholarly understanding of civil–military dynamics in relation to veterans’ experiences – the study discusses implications of this meaning-making for Norwegian civil–military relations. Two main arguments are set forth: (1) a significant discrepancy in the construction of meaning among veterans compared to the Norwegian public illustrates a societal–military gap in evaluations of the war and (2) a reciprocal distance between veterans and politics and society demonstrates a weakness in civilian control of the Norwegian Armed Forces. By way of conclusion, the study reflects on consequences of its findings.