Summary:

After the cessation of the Cold War, the nature of the conflicts in which the international community engages, has changed. Especially Western World countries tend to engage in internal post-conflict operations, with the purpose to help countries in their transition from war to a sustainable peace. These kinds of conflicts are commonly known as complex conflicts. Such conflicts require increased levels of Civil–Military integration.

As a consequence, different concepts on how to approach Civil–Military integration have emerged. Most widely known are the UN concept integrated missions and the NATO concept comprehensive approach. Also in Norway one can hear echoes of this phenomenon. Both in the political agenda and among the military leadership, the conceptual phrase helhetlig tilnærming is extensively used. However, the Norwegian concept is adapted to fit with the Norwegian perception of national identity. This thesis argues that the political environment uses the phrase as a means to safeguard that the military profession develops in a way that reflects the fundamental peace-nation values of the Norwegian society. Furthermore, preservation of the humanitarian space in operations is highly stressed. On the other hand, within the military profession the term is used as a means to strengthen the functional and collective military ethos.

In Norway the conceptual term helhetlig tilnærming therefore is understood and applied differently by the political environment and the military profession. Consequently, to comprehend the term in a meaningful way, it has to be accompanied by a contextualized explanation.

Accordingly, this thesis concludes that the expression helhetlig tilnærming in essence is an unclear byword, which both the political and the military environment act in accordance with in a different way, in order to reinforce an argument or a point of view.