In the past women have been excluded from peace initiatives. However, with the advent of UNSCR 1325 (2000) women's agency in the process has been heightened through a new framework for involvement. ...UNSCR 1325 is a policy document that acknowledges the link between women, peace, and security and uses gender mainstreaming as a mechanism to implement its objectives. Yet in spite of its policy advancements, over a decade later women still do not participate equally in peace and security initiatives that impact on the sustainability of peace. This article aims to explore the context of this framework through considerations of the gender mainstreaming provision in the disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration (DDRR) process in Liberia. Using interviews with women associated with fighting forces (WAFFs)/ex-combatants the article argues that although there was a specific targeted focus showing some gender responsive design and coordination, WAFFs'/ex-combatants' unique needs, especially those of a social and psychological nature, were poorly addressed. In addition, the commentary shows that the focus did not attend to structural inequality issues such as sexual and gender based violence (SGBV).
Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) is fundamental in remaking post-war relationships. This article draws on two sets of field research data from Liberia to highlight the role of ...social capital in shaping DDR outcomes. The way reintegration is communicated and implemented can have a direct impact on all three elements of social capital: promoting norms, developing social networks, and building (or undermining) relationships and trust. These components of social capital are directly influenced by reintegration, while also feeding back into how reintegration progresses and is experienced. More specifically, new and existing networks used by ex-combatants as a way to navigate the post-war environment are an important element of social capital, as it goes through all kinds of distortions and transformations. These networks are important for the survival strategies at work, especially when there are shortcomings in the DDR process. Finally, a further layer is suggested: that social capital is a factor mediating how reintegration contributes (or not) to peacebuilding as a whole.
National Action Plans (NAPs) have been hailed as the preferential mode of implementing United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1325 at a national level. In recent years, member states, ...especially post-conflict member states, have been heeding the calls of the United Nations to develop their own National Action Plans. However, there has been limited assessment of whether or not National Action Plans are beneficial to women in post-conflict states. Using evidence from field research in Liberia and Sierra Leone, this article argues that, despite the intent to increase national ownership of 1325 in post-conflict states, National Action Plans are ineffective at creating meaningful local ownership because they are driven by a bureaucratic approach to peacebuilding. Furthermore, implementation of National Action Plans in postconflict states is hampered by a variety of factors, such as lack of capacity and lack of political will. Finally, we conclude that National Action Plans also do a disservice to the hard work and dedication of local women's organisations.
This paper considers how the use of 'hybridity' in the peacebuilding literature overlooks the gendered dimensions of hybrid interactions. It does so by examining the United Nations Security Council ...(UNSC) Resolution 1325 national action plans (NAPs) for Liberia and Sierra Leone. By asking the gendered questions of 'who participates?' and 'how do they participate?' it draws from Mac Ginty's conception of hybridity and traces the compliance and incentivizing power in hybridized peace, as well as the ability of local actors to resist and provide alternatives. However, Mac Ginty's model is found to be inadequate because of its inattention to the gendered nature of power. It is found that with a gendered approach to hybridity, it is easier to trace the processes of hybridization of NAPs in post-conflict states where their implementation is limited. In asking the questions of 'who' and 'how', three conclusions about the gendered nature of hybrid peacebuilding are drawn: international intervention relies upon the 'feminization' of local actors; issues framed within the realm of the 'masculine' are more likely to get attention; and the Resolution 1325 agenda in post-conflict states can be subverted by framing it as a 'soft' issue.
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