Dias, MónicaWeijers, Britta2016-01-042016-01-042015-06-302015http://hdl.handle.net/10400.14/18819Natural disasters are happening more frequently and are becoming increasingly destructive. In the wake of this trend, NATO has increased its prominence in international disaster relief assistance. Consequently, critics have expressed doubts whether disaster relief operations are an appropriate field of activity for the Alliance. The purpose of the dissertation is to justify NATO’s involvement by revealing that disaster relief operations are in accordance with the founding principles of the Alliance and further by demonstrating its added value. Apported by a case study, an extensive literature review shows that NATO’s involvement is indeed appropriate and above all effective, although there are still areas for improvement.engmaster thesis203023587