Political Participation

Citation:

McDermott, Rose. 2020. “The Role of Gender in Political Violence.” Current Opinion in Behavioral Science 34: 1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.09.003.

Author: Rose McDermott

Abstract:

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Women, Men, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Gender Equality/Inequality, Political Participation, Peacekeeping, Sexual Violence, Violence

Year: 2020

Citation:

Authors: Dino Hadzic, Margrit Travis

Abstract:

How does civil conflict affect political engagement? As violence of various forms—from war to terrorism—is becoming more frequent even in the developed world, understanding its political consequences is a pressing concern. We argue that violence makes citizens view politics as more combative and aggressive. Because the traits that align with these perceptions (e.g., dominance, aggressiveness, decisiveness) are associated more with masculinity than femininity, we hypothesize that violence increases engagement among men while reducing it among women. To test our argument, we conduct an experiment in Bosnia, the site of a major ethnic civil war in 1992–95. The evidence confirms that past violence, when made salient, leads women to express significantly less and men significantly more desire to engage in politics. We conclude from these findings that violent conflict can introduce disparities in political engagement across gender, underscoring a significant challenge policy makers face in postconflict societies.

Keywords: political engagement, Gender, violence, postconflict, Eastern Europe

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Development, Gender, Women, Men, Masculinity/ies, Femininity/ies, Post-Conflict, Political Participation, Terrorism, Violence Regions: Europe, Balkans Countries: Bosnia & Herzegovina

Year: 2019

Citation:

Authors: Kaitlyn Webster, Chong Chen, Kyle Beardsley

Abstract:

Topics: Armed Conflict, Conflict, Gender, Women, Men, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Gender Equality/Inequality, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militarization, Post-Conflict, Political Participation, Peace Processes, Violence

Year: 2019

Citation:

Ellerby, Kara. 2016. “A Seat at the Table Is Not Enough: Understanding Women’s Substantive Representation in Peace Processes.” Peacebuilding 4 (2): 136–50.

Author: Kara Ellerby

Abstract:

While the international community stresses the importance of including women at the peace table so peace processes will better represent their needs and interests, it is unclear what specifically this inclusion entails. Do women need to be negotiators, mediators? Do peace agreements adequately represent women’s interests when women are included? This article engages UNSC Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security as a framework through which to assess peace processes and agreements. A woman-focused examination of all civil war peace processes reveals that less than 10% meet women’s inclusion as envisioned in UNSCR 1325. This article focuses on the three conditions accounting for women’s substantive representation in peacebuilding. What emerges are three joint necessities: an explicit women’s agenda; access to the peace process; and advocacy within the process. The final sections problematise how even in all of these positive cases women had to fight to participate.

Keywords: women, Gender, representation, stakeholders, UNSCR 1325

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Gender, Women, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2016

Citation:

Htun, Mala, and Francesca R. Jensenius. 2020. "Political Change, Women’s Rights, and Public Opinion on Gender Equality in Myanmar." The European Journal of Development Research 32: 457-81. doi: 10.1057/s41287-020-00266-z.

Authors: Mala Htun, Francesca R. Jensenius

Abstract:

Keywords: Myanmar, women's rights, public opinion, political culture, gender equality, nationalism

Annotation:

Topics: Democracy / Democratization, Development, Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Nationalism, Political Participation Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Myanmar

Year: 2020

Citation:

Verma, Ritu. 2007. Without Land You Are Nobody': Critical Dimensions of Women‟s Access to Land and Relations in Tenure in East Africa. International Development Research Centre. 

Author: Ritu Verma

Annotation:

Topics: Caste, Gender, Gendered Discourses, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Land Tenure, Livelihoods, Post-Conflict, Political Participation, Rights, Land Rights Regions: Africa, Central Africa, East Africa Countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda

Year: 2007

Citation:

Bell, Christine, and Kevin McNicholl. 2019. "Principled Pragmatism and the ‘Inclusion Project’: Implementing a Gender Perspective in Peace Agreements." feminists@law 9 (1). 

Authors: Christine Bell, Kevin McNicholl

Abstract:

UN Security Council Resolution 1325 of 2000 provided that peace agreements should adopt a ‘gender perspective’. This commitment has been reiterated in women, peace and security resolutions since that time. This article uses a mixed qualitative and quantitative analysis to consider when and how peace agreements have adopted a gender perspective, using a new PA-X peace agreement database to analyse over 1500 peace and transition agreements from between 1990 and 2016.  It goes further to consider how inclusion of women is related to the other forms of political and group inclusion contemplated to form part of the new political settlement. The article begins by examining what might be meant by a ‘gender perspective in peace agreements’.  It maps out when and how peace agreements provide for women, girls and gender, but also for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans communities, and for ‘men and boys’ and ‘family’ at different stages of a peace process.  The article provides new data on the implementation of agreement commitments and specifically those issues singled out for attention by UNSC 1325. Finally, we consider the inclusion project on offer to women and its relationship to the conceptualisation of the conflict and its solution, by considering the relationship between gender, power-sharing and transitional justice. In summary, analysis of the dataset provides three main findings.  First provision for women is still largely limited to once-off provisions, or issues relating to the victimhood of women, with holistic attempts to adopt a ‘gender perspective’ relatively rare.  Second, the inclusion of women in peace agreement texts tends to be located in the more comprehensive stages of the agreement, with little consideration given to women and gender at either pre-negotiation stages of a peace process, or implementation stages. Third, surprisingly perhaps, political power-sharing is shown to be strongly correlated with several measures of gender inclusion rather than marking an exclusive focus on the inclusion of the groups at the heart of the conflict.  In conclusion we argue that peace agreements indicate the presence of ‘principled pragmatism’ whereby elite commitments to political equality are used by a range of groups to push for a more pluralist conception of the peace settlement as also concerned with the political equality of groups beyond the conflict actors.

Keywords: women and conflict, gender perspective, peace processes, power-sharing, transitional justice, constitutions

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Justice, Transitional Justice, LGBTQ, Post-Conflict, Political Participation, Peace Processes, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2019

Citation:

You, Sotheary. 2019. "Guarantees of Non-Recurrence of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence against Women after the Khmer Rouge." Swiss Peace Cambodia Working Paper Series 6/2019, Center for the Study of Humanitarian Law, University of Basel, Basel.

Author: Sotheary You

Abstract:

Four decades after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime, Cambodian women continue to suffer from discriminatory social, cultural and economic norms and to experience gender injustice in social and political spheres. Against this background, this paper asks whether and to what extent transitional justice has contributed to providing guarantees of non-recurrence of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) against women in Cambodia. This paper examines how the transitional justice process addressed SGBV committed under the Khmer Rouge regime. It shows that transitional justice has not adequately recognized SGBV against women under the Khmer Rouge, that there has been lack of representation of women in the process and that an unfair redistribution of resources after the Khmer Rouge contributed to further discrimination. Drawing from the concept of guarantees of non-recurrence and feminist scholarship on gender justice, this paper highlights how a lack of gender-transformative policy and the government’s lack of capacity to comply with international legal standards has shaped women’s experiences after the Khmer Rouge. It argues that, in order to guarantee the non-repetition of SGBV against women, transitional justice initiatives should aim to address social and cultural injustice effectively; to subvert patriarchal and oppressive norms; and to promote women’s participation in social, economic and political development in Cambodia. It concludes with policy recommendations.

Keywords: Khmer Rouge, guarantee of non-recurrence, transformative reparation, transitional justice, Cambodia, sexual and gender-based violence

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Women, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Justice, Transitional Justice, Political Participation, Sexual Violence, SV against Women Regions: Asia, Southeast Asia Countries: Cambodia

Year: 2019

Citation:

Mechoulan, Delphine, Youssef Mahmoud, Andrea Ó Súilleabháin, and Jimena Leiva Roesch. 2016. The SDGs and Prevention for Sustaining Peace: Exploring the Transformative Potential of the Goal on Gender Equality. New York: International Peace Institute.

Authors: Delphine Mechoulan, Youssef Mahmoud, Andrea Ó Súilleabháin , Jimena Leiva Roesch

Keywords: gender equality, peacetime, women's rights, sustainable development, working women, peacefulness, sustainable economic development, violence, peacemaking, civil wars

Annotation:

Topics: Development, Gender, Women, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peacebuilding, Political Participation, Peace Processes, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Year: 2016

Citation:

Dwan, Renata. 2019. "Women in Arms Control: Time for a Gender Turn?" Arms Control Today 49 (8): 6-11.

Author: Renata Dwan

Annotation:

Summary:
"On the face of it, women in the arms control field have had a good year, with gender equality featuring frequently in national and multilateral policy debates. Beyond the traditionally women-friendly humanitarian discourse, recent meetings of the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) have seen side events and working papers on gender equality and perspectives ahead of the treaty's 2020 review conference. The first-ever side event on gender was held in the margins of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) meeting in Geneva this August. The fifth conference of states-parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) the same month went considerably further, convening a thematic discussion on gender and adopting a decision on gender and gender-based violence issues. New studies on the role of women in nuclear and broader arms control garnered significant attention and debate . . . In 2017, newly appointed UN Secretary General António Guterres pledged to achieve gender parity in UN senior leadership appointments by 2021 and across the entire system "well before 2030." The African Union, European Union, and NATO have established dedicated representatives for WPS issues with mandates to advance the integration of gender issues across their respective organization's policies and actions" (Dwan 2019, 6-7). 

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations, Political Participation, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, Weapons /Arms, Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

Year: 2019