Security Sector Reform

The Internationalization of Security Sector Gender Reforms in Post-Conflict Countries

Citation:

Huber, Laura, and Sabrina Karim. 2018. “The Internationalization of Security Sector Gender Reforms in Post-Conflict Countries.” Conflict Management and Peace Science 35 (3): 263–79.

Authors: Laura Huber, Sabrina Karim

Abstract:

With the passing of several UN Security Council Resolutions related to Women, Peace and Security (WPS), gender balancing security sector reforms (SSR)—or policies that ensure the equal participation of women in the security sector—have received increased global attention over the past two decades. However, to date, there is no explanation for variation in their adoption. This paper examines the internationalization of SSR gender reform, arguing that the presence of a peacekeeping mission within a post-conflic country affects the state’s resources and political will to adopt gender balancing reforms. We explore the effect of multidimensional peacekeeping using an original dataset on SSR in post-conflict countries, the Security Sector Reform Dataset (SSRD), from 1989 to 2012. We find that peacekeeping missions increase the probability that a state adopts gender balancing reforms in SSR. As the first cross-national quantitative examination of gender balancing reforms, these findings also shed light on the conditions under which states adopt security sector reforms more generally.

Keywords: security sector reform, Gender, conflict, post conflict

Topics: Conflict, Gender, Women, Gender Balance, Peacekeeping, Post-Conflict, Security Sector Reform, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS

Year: 2018

NATO’s About-Face: Adaptation to Gender Mainstreaming in an Alliance Setting

Citation:

Hardt, Heidi, and Stéfanie von Hlatky. 2020. “NATO’s About-Face: Adaptation to Gender Mainstreaming in an Alliance Setting.” Journal of Global Security Studies 5 (1): 136–59.

Authors: Heidi Hardt, Stéfanie von Hlatky

Abstract:

Scholars of adaptation in global security studies have only recently focused attention on international security organizations (ISOs). Since the United Nations Security Council’s issuance of Resolution 1325, some ISOs have enacted changes to implement gender mainstreaming. The concept involves incorporating gender-based analyses in policy and planning and increasing women’s representation. Drawing on interviews with 71 elites and a dataset of 97 NATO gender guidelines, this article introduces an original argument for why NATO adapted to gender mainstreaming. Such adaptation is surprising given the military’s historical resistance to gender considerations and that civilian bodies typically enact reforms. Findings indicate that other ISOs were substantially influential in the process and that institutional incentives built-in to NATO’s military bodies drove military officials to steer implementation. Additionally, military elites perceived a link between gender mainstreaming and operational effectiveness, which further consolidated organization-wide adaptation. This study challenges long-held assumptions about militaries’ resistance to gender-related changes. It also offers one of the first empirical assessments of gender mainstreaming in an ISO.

Keywords: Gender, NATO, adaptation, operations, military

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, International Organizations, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Security Sector Reform, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2020

Gender and Nigeria’s Internal Security Management

Citation:

Pogoson, Aituaje Irene, and Moses Ugbobi Saleh. 2019. "Gender and Nigeria's Internal Security Management." In Internal Security Management in Nigeria: Perspectives, Challenges and Lessons, edited by Oshita O. Oshita, Ikenna Mike Alumona, and Freedom Chukwudi Onuoha, 633-647. Singapore: Palgrave Macmillan.

Authors: Aituaje Irene Pogoson, Moses Ugbobi Saleh

Abstract:

Emerging developments since the return to democracy in Nigeria in May 1999 indicate that the country’s national security continues to face severe internal challenges. Nigeria experiences increase in violent internal security challenges which, attempts by the security agencies to contain, appear not to be effective nor gender conscious. Nigeria’s internal security architecture and management is not gender balanced and women’s security concerns are not mainstreamed into security. This chapter extends the perception of security beyond its understanding as primarily a state concern to examine the dynamics of gender in internal security management. Gender is not just ‘about women’—it is about men and women and the different roles, characteristics and behaviour expected or assumed of them in a society. Gender plays a critical role in determining the types of crimes that women, girls, men and boys tend to commit, and to be victims of. Gender factors such as age, disability, gender, ethnicity and class are central to our understanding of security. Therefore, taking into consideration gender issues in internal security management is crucial to maintain peace and security.

From the backdrop of the gender implications of unrest in the Niger Delta Region, the chapter discusses the growth of militant Islamism primarily in Northern Nigeria, the hazard of raiding armed Fulani herdsmen and the Zaki-Biam invasion, among others. The chapter concludes that gender sensitivity to internal security management is crucial to the overall objectives of any security measure or decision to restore normalcy and that the management of internal security can no longer be understood in one-dimensional terms, as protection from external enemies. Other non traditional aspects of national security, the protection from internal enemies, ignorance and despair especially as it concerns women in particular, must be entrenched.

Keywords: Gender, peace, security, security management

Topics: Class, Ethnicity, Gender, Gender Roles, Gendered Power Relations, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Security Sector Reform Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Nigeria

Year: 2019

Deepening the Conversation: Feminism, International Policing and the WPS Agenda

Citation:

Huber, Laura K, and Natalie F Hudson. 2019. "Deepening the Conversation: Feminism, International Policing and the WPS Agenda." International Peacekeeping 26 (5): 579-604.

Authors: Laura Huber, Natalie Hudson

Abstract:

Scholarship on international police reform and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) has flourished in the last decade and the potential for engagement across these two bodies of literature is promising. Given the increased use of police personnel in international peace missions and emphasis on gender mainstreaming policies, the need for assessing the impact of these two trends has never been greater. Thus, this paper seeks to bridge gaps between the mainstream policing scholarship and feminist scholars focused on post-conflict peacebuilding police reforms. We explore how feminist scholars can engage with policing literature’s technocratic language and ‘in the field’ experience as well as how policing scholars can interact with feminist scholars to transform traditional approaches to security in the context of the WPS Agenda. We demonstrate the benefits of increased dialogue and interaction by highlighting the common and diverging challenges in both fields in three areas: the design, implementation, and evaluation. Finally, to illustrate the dynamic intersection of these areas of study and practice, we examine the transnational policing efforts to gender mainstream the Liberian National Police (LNP) in the context of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

Keywords: feminism, police, Gender, security sector reform, peacekeeping

Topics: Feminisms, Gender Mainstreaming, International Organizations, Peacebuilding, Peacekeeping, Post-Conflict, Security Sector Reform Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Liberia

Year: 2019

Towards a 'Women-Oriented' Approach to Post-Conflict Policing: Interpreting National Experience(s) and Intergovernmental Aspirations

Citation:

Strobl, Staci. 2020. “Towards a ‘Women-Oriented’ Approach to Post-Conflict Policing: Interpreting National Experience(s) and Intergovernmental Aspirations.” International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy 9 (1): 95-111.

Author: Staci Strobl

Abstract:

In regard to the United Nations’ (UN) framework for promoting gender equality in policing, including women in national police forces remains a global challenge. Even countries possessing a stable history of women’s involvement reveal that women are significantly under-represented in policing when compared to other professions—even though prior research has strongly suggested that women are important actors in establishing post-conflict democratic order. This article outlines the political, social and institutional challenges that are faced to achieve significant gender representation in national police forces. It also recommends countering these challenges by using a ‘women-oriented’ approach. Such an approach does not merely fulfil the aspirational UN goals of achieving greater gender balance, it also yields many practical advantages for improving policing, including 1) leveraging the unique skills that women offer in policing, 2) making better use of force decisions, 3) combatting police corruption and 4) increasing the gender responsiveness of police. Finally, several operational strategies for promoting more women into policing are suggested.

Topics: Corruption, Democracy / Democratization, Gender, Women, Gender Balance, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Livelihoods, Post-Conflict, Security Sector Reform

Year: 2020

Gender and the EU's Support for Security Sector Reform in Fragile Contexts

Citation:

Ansorg, Nadine, and Toni Haastrup. 2018. "Gender and the EU's Support for Security Sector Reform in Fragile Contexts." Journal of Common Market Studies 56 (5): 1127-43.

Authors: Nadine Ansorg, Toni Haastrup

Abstract:

How does the European Union (EU) include ‘gender’ within its support to security sector reform (SSR) programmes? The EU has committed to include gender perspectives by implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda (WPS) within its foreign security practices. While researchers and practitioners recognise the importance of integrating gender issues into SSR operational effectiveness, there is limited knowledge about how this functions within the EU’s security architecture. This article uses Feminist Institutionalism (FI) to understand the process of gender mainstreaming within the EU’s support to SSR programmes. It does this by using two crucial theory-testing cases of SSR programmes – Ukraine and Afghanistan. It finds that the EU’s ability to promote gender inclusive approaches to SSR is limited by the structure of the EU’s own assumptions and capabilities, and institutional constraints in third countries. At the same time, the cases underscore the importance of individuals as agents of change. 

Keywords: EU, security sector reform, Gender, feminist institutionalism, security

Topics: Feminisms, Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Security, Security Sector Reform, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Asia, South Asia, Europe, Eastern Europe Countries: Afghanistan, Ukraine

Year: 2018

Three Waves of Gender Integration: The Causes, Consequences, and Implications for the South African Armed Forces

Citation:

Heinecken, Lindy. 2019. "Three Waves of Gender Integration: The Causes, Consequences, and Implications for the South African Armed Forces." In Women and Gender Perspectives in the Military: An International Comparison, edited by Robert Egnell and Mayesha Alam, 207-24. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press.

Author: Lindy Heinecken

Annotation:

Summary:
“South Africa has a long history of women’s involvement in war. Although many of the South African debates resonate with those of other countries in terms of gender integration, few countries have adopted such an assertive process of gender reform. Not only do women now serve in combat roles, but they represent more than a quarter of the fulltime forces. Added to this is the intersectionality of race, culture, and politics that plays out alongside and influences attitudes toward gender integration. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the systemic conditions that have facilitated women’s exclusion and inclusion during the three waves of gender integration and the tensions this has created over the past fifty years. To place the discussion in context, a brief outline of the unique security, political, and social contexts is provided for each wave of gender reforms. Hereafter how gender-equality and gender-mainstreaming initiatives have been implemented is described and reflected on. The last section evaluates what tensions gender integration has evoked and whether women’s increased numbers have shifted gender binaries” (Heinecken 2019, 207-9).

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Wars, Combatants, Female Combatants, Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, Intersectionality, Race, Security Sector Reform Regions: Africa, Southern Africa Countries: South Africa

Year: 2019

Security Sector Reform and the Paradoxical Tension between Local Ownership and Gender Equality

Citation:

Gordon, Eleanor, Anthony Cleland Welch, and Emmicki Roos. 2015. “Security Sector Reform and the Paradoxical Tension between Local Ownership and Gender Equality.” Stability: International Journal of Security and Development 4 (1).

Authors: Eleanor Gordon, Anthony Cleland Welch, Emmicki Roos

Abstract:

This article analyses the tension or conflict that can exist between the principles of local ownership and gender equality that guide Security Sector Reform (SSR) programmes when gender discrimination and patriarchal values characterise the local environment (and ‘locals’ do not value gender equality). In these situations, international actors may be reluctant to advocate gender equality, regarding it as imposing culturally alien values and potentially destabilising to the SSR process. It is argued, however, that the tension between local ownership and gender equality is deceptive and merely serves to protect the power of dominant groups and disempower the marginalised, often serving to disguise the power relations at play in post-conflict environments and avoid addressing the security needs of those who are often at most risk. The paper concludes that rather than a tension existing between the two principles, in fact, local ownership without gender equality is meaningless. Moreover, failing to promote gender equality undermines the extent to which SSR programmes result in security and justice sector institutions that are representative of and responsive to the needs of both men and women. It can also perpetuate structural inequalities and conflict dynamics and, ultimately, limit the success of SSR and broader peacebuilding processes.

Topics: Gender, Gendered Power Relations, Patriarchy, Gender Equality/Inequality, Justice, Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict, Security, Security Sector Reform

Year: 2015

Gender Perspectives and Military Effectiveness: Implementing UNSCR 1325 and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security

Citation:

Egnell, Robert. 2016. “Gender Perspectives and Military Effectiveness: Implementing UNSCR 1325 and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.” Prism: A Journal of the Center for Complex Operations 6 (1): 73-89.

Author: Robert Egnell

Annotation:

Summary: 
"To further the discussion on gender in military affairs, this article discusses two questions: why should gender perspectives be introduced and implemented in military organizations? And how should this process be managed to do so successfully? Regardless of whether we agree that gender perspectives are important for military affairs or not, or if we simply obey the “orders” of the National Action Plan (NAP), we are facing the challenge of implementing UNSCR 1325 in a vast organization with a culture that has traditionally been unkind to these perspectives. The process of implementation must therefore be approached as an uphill battle that will involve substantial resistance. The article draws on a major study of a similar process in Sweden that will serve to highlight general tactical choices, organizational hurdles, and policy implications for an international audience" (Egnell 2016, 74).

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Peace and Security, Post-Conflict Governance, International Organizations, Military Forces & Armed Groups, Militaries, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Security Sector Reform Regions: Europe, Nordic states, Northern Europe Countries: Sweden

Year: 2016

What Role for the Security Sector? An SSR Approach to Implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda

Citation:

Holvikivi, Aiko. 2015. "What Role for the Security Sector? An SSR Approach to Implementing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda." Connections 14 (3): 31-44.

Author: Aiko Holvikivi

Annotation:

Summary:
"The United Nations Security Council resolutions on “Women, Peace and Security” identify security sector reform (SSR) as a tool for their implementation. Nonetheless, the resolutions are often seen as the purview of women’s organizations and the responsibility of ministries of foreign affairs, leaving the role of security sector institutions and their obligations for reform murky. On the other hand, a body of literature oriented toward practitioners and policymakers charts out the rationale and practical tools for ensuring SSR interventions are gender responsive. This literature tends to view the women, peace and security resolutions as a tool for integrating gender perspectives in SSR interventions. However, this literature’s ultimate goal remains the good governance of the security sector.
 
"In this article, I seek to bridge this gap through an examination of the roles and responsibilities of the security sector in implementing the women, peace and security agenda. More precisely, I examine the processes and principles associated with security sector reform, and argue that its technical components and ultimate objectives are key to the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda. In other words, I ask what SSR can bring to the women, peace and security agenda, rather than how the integration of gender furthers SSR.
 
"As other contributions in this volume have already introduced the women, peace and security agenda, the following section focuses on the concept and key tenets of SSR and engages in a brief discussion on mainstreaming gender into SSR interventions. The analysis that follows is structured around the four pillars of the women, peace and security agenda, and examines what reform and good governance of the security sector can contribute to the realization of these goals. In other words, it identifies roles and responsibilities for the security sector in implementing this agenda. The final section summarizes how SSR is key to the implementation of the women, peace and security agenda, and how SSR approaches can complement its further development" (Holvikivi 2015, p. 31-2).

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

Year: 2015

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