women and peacebuilding : The conditions that enhance women's participation in peacebuilding process within international efforts

Abstract: Women’s participation in a post-conflict peace process has been given an important role. Some scholars justify women’s participation using a functional claim while others simply use a right-based claim. Despite the important role associated with women’s participation in post-conflict peace process the conditions that enhance women’s participation in international interventions in post-conflict peacebuilding process seems lacking or under-researched. This study contributes to this under-researched phenomenon by asking the question “what conditions enhance women’s participation in international interventions in post-conflict peacebuilding processes”?  To find out the causal mechanism that increases women’s participation, I conducted a structured and focused comparison of two UNPSO in Liberia in which one implements a 1325 mandated approach, so as to explore my theoretical argument that “an international intervention that implements a 1325 mandated approach increases women’s participation“. The empirical analyses suggest support for the theoretical explanations that a 1325 mandated approach promotes gender equality through raising awareness, provides gender sensitive rules, builds women’s capacity which all increase women’s participation in the post-conflict peacebuilding process. Although a 1325 mandated approach increases women’s participation, their active role in the decision-making process remains low compared to their physical representation and contribution. The findings also have shed light on some other factors that could have a significant effect on the explanatory powers of the observed variables. These include the conflict itself, the capacity of local women’s organizations and the political will, thus calling for further research.