Caught between art and science: the Women, Peace and Security agenda in United Nations mediation narratives

Abstract

This article was selected as the runner-up for the 2018 Enloe Award. The committee commented: “This article provides a solid and nuanced account of UN mediation processes around the WPS agenda, drawing on Annick Wibben’s narrative approach to document how the notion that mediation is a science rather than an art leaves little room for complexity. It is a very well-researched piece with a clear, polished, and coherent argument.” “The article’s meticulous engagement with a bureaucratic procedure reminds the reader of its life-and-death consequences, all the while providing a sophisticated and solid gender analysis. It is also important for revealing the complexities – how masculine–feminine assumptions and expectations work, or that one method is not necessarily better than another for gender inclusiveness. The author’s conclusion is a generative one: it recognizes the need to explore the question in other settings and points to a future research agenda.” ABSTRACT The Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda has not yet had a large or lasting impact on United Nations (UN)-brokered peace processes. I argue that we can understand the challenges to incorporating the WPS agenda by examining the changes that UN mediation has undergone in the post-Cold War era. UN mediation has moved from being seen as a diplomatic art to being seen as a professionalized science. Narratives about mediation as an “art” or as a “science” have distinct implications for how the UN has incorporated the WPS agenda in mediation. To examine these narratives, I adopt Wibben’s feminist narrative approach. I analyze texts including UN guidance documents on mediation, notes from participant observation of training sessions on mediation and gender, and 37 interviews with UN mediation personnel. I find that the narrative of mediation as a science constructs a linear process with little room for complexity. In doing so, it depoliticizes gender relations and constrains the participation of women. The narrative of mediation as an art privileges experience, consent, and trusting relationships. Including women and gender issues appears risky because it endangers consent. Meanwhile, building trust may rely upon excluding certain groups of people. These findings contribute to our understanding of how institutional contexts affect the implementation of the WPS agenda.