Where are the Men and Boys? Security Sector Reform, Local Ownership and Gender

Abstract: Gender has recently begun to receive attention as an important factor in the provision of security. Unfortunately, the consideration of gender is often mistakenly understood to mean a consideration of women and women’s issues, when in reality it pertains to the needs and interests of both men and women. Through an idea analysis, this thesis aims to study the ideas about gender expressed in contemporary security sector reform and local ownership debate. The analysis shows that gender specific violence towards civilian men and boys is repeatedly overlooked in security sector reform policy and debate. It further shows that marginalized men are not being valued as local owners of reform processes due to the ideas about men and women that permeate the debate. The theory of ‘hegemonic masculinity’ reveals how the ideas expressed serve to increase men’s vulnerabilities and further exclude them from the process of reform. The thesis concludes that because civilian men are overlooked in the debate, no substantial ownership can be attained. Because security sector reform is highly reliant on local ownership for legitimacy and sustainability, the thesis further suggests that the entire security sector reform project is compromised by the exclusion of men and boys.