Gender, UN Peacebuilding, and the Politics of Space: Locating Legitimacy

by Laura J. Shepherd

Overview

The United Nations Peacebuilding Commission (UNPBC) was established in December 2005 to develop outlines of best practice in post-conflict reconstruction, and to secure the political and material resources necessary to assist states in transition from conflict to peacetime. Currently, the organization is involved in reconstruction and peacebuilding activities in six countries. Yet, a 2010 review by permanent representatives to the United Nations found that the hopes of the UN peacebuilding architecture "despite committed and dedicated efforts...ha[d] yet to be realized." Two of these hopes relate to gender and power, specifically that peacebuilding efforts integrate a "gender perspective" and that the Commission consult with civil society, NGOs, and women's organizations.

This book is the first to offer an extensive and dedicated analysis of the activities of the UN Peacebuilding Commission with regard to both gender politics, broadly conceived, and the gendered dynamics of civil society participation in peacebuilding activities. Laura J. Shepherd draws upon original fieldwork that she conducted at the UN to argue that the gendered and spatial politics of peacebuilding not only feminizes civil society organizations, but also perpetuates hierarchies that privilege the international over the domestic realms. The book argues that the dominant representations of women, gender, and civil society in UN peacebuilding discourse produce spatial hierarchies that paradoxically undermine the contemporary emphasis on "bottom-up" governance of peacebuilding activities.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780199982721
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2017
Series:	Oxford Studies in Gender and International Relations
Edition description:	UK ed.
Pages:	262
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Laura J. Shepherd is Professor of International Relations at the University of Sydney, Australia, and a Visiting Senior Fellow at the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security in London, UK.

Table of Contents

List of Figures and Tables
Acknowledgments
Permissions
A note about referencing
Chapter 1: The puzzle and the project
Chapter 2: The concept and practice of peacebuilding at the UN and beyond
Chapter 3: Gender in UN peacebuilding discourse
Chapter 4: Women in UN peacebuilding discourse
Chapter 5: Civil society in UN peacebuilding discourse
Chapter 6: Why UN peacebuilding discourse matters
Appendix
Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"These insights also hold relevance for IR and peace and conflict studies, where debates on legitimacy in peace interventions have been prevalent." — Sarah Smith, London School of Economics, International Studies Review

"Shepherd weaves a compelling narrative that engages with peacebuilding discourse and the ways in which it is not only gendered and gendering but also spatialized. Theoretically sophisticated and nuanced, this book should be compulsory reading for policymakers, as well as academics and students alike." — International Feminist Journal of Politics

"The arguments presented in this thought-provoking book are quintessential Shepherd-meticulously supported, incredibly lucid, yet theoretically sophisticated. Skillfully blending critically reflective insights from all kinds of texts, she shows the shifts and continuities in the discursive construction of gender and space over more than ten years of UN peacebuilding practice. Hopeful yet cautious, her analysis of the consequences of such constructions underscores the need for continued resistance to spatial and epistemic injustice. An invaluable read deserving of a broad audience."
—Heidi Hudson, Professor of International Relations, University of the Free State, South Africa

"This is an extraordinarily well-written and accessible book on an important topic. Laura Shepherd looks afresh at the thinking (and lack of thinking) behind much of UN peacebuilding, with special reference to gender and power. Her analysis and conclusions guarantee that this book will be on my student reading lists."
—Roger Mac Ginty, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Manchester

"Through rigorous and rich discourse analysis, Shepherd interrogates not only how the UN understands peacebuilding itself but also how it understands gender, women, and civil society. The book is structured accordingly, with a chapter focusing on each of the four topics, along with a valuable introduction justifying the approach and a conclusion that draws the main threads of the argument together."—Claire Duncanson is senior lecturer in international relations at the University of Edinburgh and is the author of Gender and Peacebuilding

From the Publisher