UNSCR 1325

United Nations Resolution 1325 was landmark agreement that puts women at the forefront of internaitonal development considerations.

Power and Authority in the Production of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325

Citation:

Shepherd, Laura J. 2008. “Power and Authority in the Production of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325.” International Studies Quarterly 52 (2): 383-404.

Author: Laura J. Shepherd

Abstract:

United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 was adopted in 2000 with the aim of ensuring all efforts toward peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction, as well as the conduct of armed conflict itself, would entail sensitivity toward gendered violence and gendered inequalities. In this article, I contrast two accounts of the writing of UNSCR 1325 that issue from the two institutions that claim authority over the document: the United Nations Security Council and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security. I make a broader theoretical argument about the importance of paying analytical attention to the discursive terrain of international institutions when analyzing the formulation and implementation of security policy, concluding that contemporary theorizing of international institutions is product/productive of a particular configuration of political authority and legitimacy that can, and should, be challenged.

Topics: Gender, Women, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2008

Globalizing Gender: Who Gets It? Who Doesn’t

Citation:

Whitworth, Sandra. 2005. “Globalizing Gender: Who Gets It? Who Doesn’t.” In The Ethics of Building Peace in International Relations: Selected Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Conference of the Centre for International and Security Studies, edited by Christie Ryerson and Elizabeth Dauphinee, 119–30. Toronto: York University.

Author: Sandra Whitworth

Abstract:

This paper will elaborate upon elements of what is called here gender and globalized violence. The consensus amongst most observers of global politics is that armed conflict has escalated throughout the post-Cold War period, and has been predominantly internal in nature. One of the defining features of these 'new' conflicts are the gendered nature of mass displacements, gender-based and sexual violence, ethnic cleansing and genocide. Though the causes of conflict are varied, a primary emphasis in UN and other official documents focuses on the political dimensions of conflict. Whether or not the historical legacies of colonialism, competition over scarce resources, political or economic inequities, or ethnic, ideological, or religious difference erupts into outbreaks of violent conflict depend very much on whether appropriate and effective coping mechanisms exist, including well functioning governance and rule of law institutions.Far less common in UN or other accounts of conflict is any acknowledgment of, as Anne Orford writes, the relationship between insecurity and economic liberalization, or the ways in which the international division of labour is itself a violent process. Rather, armed conflict is identified as the moment in which fighting broke out. It is understood to have root causes which preceded the actual outbreak of violence but which - even if they are multidimensional causes - can be addressed by supporting the development of national and regional capacities for early warning, conflict prevention and long-term peacebuilding. Armed conflict, in short, is a problem but it is a problem that can be solved and the UN and other formal organizations have available to them the instruments for doing so: preventive diplomacy, early warning, fact-finding, peacemaking, peacekeeping, confidence building and institution-building. These understandings take place parallel to a number of contemporary intersecting discussions about gender and violence that appear to make gender more visible amongst mainstream observers of global politics. For example, the formal acknowledgment of the specificities of gender in situations of armed conflict (and conflict resolution) that was made in the form of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security. There have also been a series of discussions about expanding notions of security more generally, which inevitably raise questions of gender. In the UN, and in some national contexts (such as Canada) this has taken the form of theoretical work and policy priorities organized around the idea of 'human security'. In Europe it tends to be organized more around discussions of 'security sector reform'. This paper will outline this context for understanding contemporary armed conflict and the limits of existing conceptualizations and policy efforts. It will also outline an alternative understanding of armed conflict drawn from the work of writers such as Mark Duffield which suggest that contemporary armed conflict is not a departure from normalcy, as such, but rather a complex configuration of processes of social transformation inextricably connected to the inclusions and exclusions associated with contemporary forms of capitalism. Such an understanding would not be one that celebrated the violences of that social transformation, but it would understand them differently, and in particular, would be far less optimistic about the application in discrete moments in time of particular instruments to achieve their resolution.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Gender-Based Violence, Gendered Power Relations, International Organizations, Peace Processes, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Sexual Violence

Year: 2005

Learning to Speak a “Masculine” Language: Rationalization of Gender Equality in the United Nations Peacekeeping Bureaucracy

Citation:

Baumgärtner, Ulrike. 2010. “Learning to Speak a ‘Masculine’ Language: Rationalization of Gender Equality in the United Nations Peacekeeping Bureaucracy.” Paper presented at the ISA Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA, Febuary 17-20.

Author: Ulrike Baumgärtner

Abstract:

This paper is part of an ongoing dissertation project and traces back the process of norm adaptation of gender equality in the military dominated context of UN-peacekeeping (Mazurana 2002, pp.42f.; Patel and Tripodi 2007, pp.588f.; Whitworth 2004). To this end, I proceed in four steps. First, I describe the structural changes towards gender equality in the still military dominated environment. The elaborations on how gender-related structural changes have been integrated in the UN-peacekeeping bureaucracy mark the starting point for analysis. Secondly, I sketch out theoretical approaches on norm compliance and strategic framing in order to find explanations for the observed changes in the international bureaucracy. The following empirical analysis is led by the hypotheses that are derived from the theoretical literature. The first focuses on the way of framing a new normative idea; the second stresses the role of particular norm entrepreneurs. Yet, before changes in framing gender equality can be identified it is necessary to describe how the concept has been understood in its original social context. And in order to evaluate if the new framing resonates with the relevant audience it is necessary to reveal the prevalent norm that leads UN-peacekeeping activities. To this end, the empirical part of this paper has two parts. The discourse analysis concentrates on selected core UN-documents for each aspect described above.

Topics: Gender, Masculinity/ies, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Equality/Inequality, International Organizations, Political Participation, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2010

Gender and Gender Mainstreaming in International Peacebuilding

Citation:

Purkarthofer, Petra. 2006. “Gender and Gender Mainstreaming in International Peacebuilding.” Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the International Studies Association, San Diego, March 22-25.

Author: Petra Purkarthofer

Abstract:

Post-conflict peacebuilding is a gendered process, in which power and resources are reassigned. Gender relations have an impact on the design of post-conflict peacebuilding and are restructured by this process at the same time. I will present an overview of the discussion on gender and peacebuilding during recent years and identify the main factors leading to greater gender sensitivity in international peacebuilding, especially with regard to the United Nations. How is gender defined and used in UN resolutions and documents? UN resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security for example focuses mainly on special needs of women. Issues to transform gender hierarchies such as structural discrimination, power relations, access to resources, gender identity or gender specific division of labor are rarely discussed. Often women and gender are used synonymously. What does gender mainstreaming mean in this context and how is it applied in peace missions? I will show that without any future change, gender mainstreaming risks reproducing gender inequalities.

Topics: Gender, Gender Mainstreaming, Gendered Power Relations, Gender Hierarchies, Gender Equality/Inequality, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2006

From Combat to Community: Women and Girls of Sierra Leone

Citation:

Mazurana, Dyan, and Khristopher Carlson. 2004.From Combat to Community: Women and Girls of Sierra Leone. Cambridge, MA: Women Waging Peace Policy Commission.

Authors: Dyan Mazurana, Khristopher Carlson

Abstract:

Wars and internal conflicts do not end simply with the signing of peace agreements. To avoid a resurgence of violence, it is necessary to develop and support measures for strengthening the governance, security, justice, and socioeconomic capacities of a state. This is a complex task in any society, but daunting in post-conflict situations. While the international community can provide assistance and valuable resources, the local population, which has no “exit strategy,” has the greatest commitment to building sustainable peace. It is therefore essential to draw on the assets, experiences, and dedication at the local level and among all sectors of society. One sector often overlooked and underestimated is women. In most post-conflict societies women are more than 50 percent of the population and are actively engaged in peace building while addressing the basic survival needs of their families and communities. Yet they are often portrayed as passive victims, and little regard is given to their actual and potential roles in fostering security. In October 2000, for the first time in its history, the United Nations Security Council acknowledged that women have a key role in promoting international stability by passing Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security. It called on all parties to ensure women’s participation in peace processes, from the prevention of conflict to negotiations and post-war reconstruction. The Women Waging Peace Policy Commission was established to examine peace processes with a particular focus on the contributions of women. Drawing on qualitative field-based research and quantitative survey data, “From Combat to Community: Women and Girls of Sierra Leone” assesses how consideration of gender issues can improve disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) processes and documents the contributions of women in official and civil society-based reintegration programs.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Civil Society, Combatants, Female Combatants, Conflict Prevention, DDR, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender Mainstreaming, Governance, Post-Conflict Governance, Justice, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, Security, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325 Regions: Africa, West Africa Countries: Sierra Leone

Year: 2004

Engendering Peace: How the Peacebuilding Commission Can Live up to UN Security Council Resolution 1325

Citation:

Ekiyor, Thelma. 2006. "Engendering Peace: How the Peacebuilding Commission Can Live up to UN Security Council Resolution 1325." Briefing Paper, Dialogue on Globalization, Friedrich Ebert-Stiftung, Washington, DC. 

Author: Thelma Ekiyor

Topics: Gender, Peacebuilding, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2006

En-Gendering UN Peacekeeping Operations

Citation:

Hudson, Natalie Florea. 2005. “En-Gendering UN Peacekeeping Operations.” International Journal 60 (3): 785-807.

Author: Natalie Florea Hudson

Topics: Gender, Women, Gender Mainstreaming, International Organizations, Peacekeeping, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2005

Women, War, Peace-Building and Reconstruction

Citation:

Onyejekwe, Chineze J. 2005. “Women, War, Peace-Building and Reconstruction." International Social Science Journal 57, no. 184, 277–83.

Author: Chineze J. Onyejekwe

Abstract:

Gender-based violence, especially sexual violence, has become a weapon of warfare and one of the defining characteristics of contemporary armed conflict. This paper focuses on women's protection in armed conflict and their centrality to conflict resolution and peace building. The experiences of women and girls in war and conflict situations are described. Constraints women face in participating in post-conflict peace building are also analysed. The role of the United Nations in engendering peace through Security Council Resolution 1325 is analyzed as well.

Topics: Armed Conflict, Gender, Women, Girls, Gender-Based Violence, International Organizations, Peacebuilding, Peace Processes, Post-Conflict, Post-Conflict Reconstruction, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325, Sexual Violence

Year: 2005

UNSCR 1325 - Conundrums and Opportunities

Citation:

de Jonge Oudraat, Chantal. 2013. “UNSCR 1325 - Conundrums and Opportunities.” International Interactions 39 (4): 612-19.

Author: Chantal De Jonge Oudraat

Topics: Gender, Women, UN Security Council Resolutions on WPS, UNSCR 1325

Year: 2013

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