Institutionalising Women, Peace and Security in the Pacific Islands: Gendering the ‘architecture of entitlements’?

Citation:

George, Nicole. 2016. “Institutionalising Women, Peace and Security in the Pacific Islands: Gendering the ‘Architecture of Entitlements’?” International Political Science Review 37 (3): 375-89. 

Author: Nicole George

Abstract:

Efforts to adopt provisions of the United Nations Women, Peace and Security agenda in local policy contexts are often hailed enthusiastically by gender advocates as a transformative development. But closer scrutiny of these localisation efforts may reveal something different. This article draws on theories of feminist institutionalism to examine the formal and informal institutional interplays which have shaped the Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security that was formalised by the Pacific Islands Forum in 2012. My analysis shows that although the Regional Action Plan is a significant development in rhetorical terms for the Pacific region, and may lay the foundation for future policy progress on gender and security, its focus is also constrained. This becomes particularly evident when the Regional Action Plan’s emphasis on women’s peacebuilding is compared with the plan’s relative silence on the growing regional challenge of gender and environmental insecurity. To explain these developments I show how the plan sits in interesting, and unresolved, tension with existing institutional norms and practices which gender the ‘architecture of entitlements’ governing how Pacific Island women can legitimately enter debate on regional security.
 

Keywords: women, peace and security, gender politics, Pacific Islands, peacebuilding, environmental security

Topics: Environment, Gender, Women, Peace and Security, Peacebuilding, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, Security Sector Reform Regions: Oceania

Year: 2016

© 2024 CONSORTIUM ON GENDER, SECURITY & HUMAN RIGHTSLEGAL STATEMENT All photographs used on this site, and any materials posted on it, are the property of their respective owners, and are used by permission. Photographs: The images used on the site may not be downloaded, used, or reproduced in any way without the permission of the owner of the image. Materials: Visitors to the site are welcome to peruse the materials posted for their own research or for educational purposes. These materials, whether the property of the Consortium or of another, may only be reproduced with the permission of the owner of the material. This website contains copyrighted materials. The Consortium believes that any use of copyrighted material on this site is both permissive and in accordance with the Fair Use doctrine of 17 U.S.C. § 107. If, however, you believe that your intellectual property rights have been violated, please contact the Consortium at info@genderandsecurity.org.