Gender and the EU's Support for Security Sector Reform in Fragile Contexts

Nadine Ansorg,Toni Haastrup

doi:10.1111/jcms.12716

Abstract

AbstractHow does the European Union (EU) include ‘gender’ within its support to security sector reform (SSR) programmes? The EU has committed to include gender perspectives by implementing the Women, Peace and Security agenda (WPS) within its foreign security practices. While researchers and practitioners recognise the importance of integrating gender issues into SSR operational effectiveness, there is limited knowledge about how this functions within the EU's security architecture. This article uses Feminist Institutionalism (FI) to understand the process of gender mainstreaming within the EU's support to SSR programmes. It does this by using two crucial theory‐testing cases of SSR programmes – Ukraine and Afghanistan. It finds that the EU's ability to promote gender inclusive approaches to SSR is limited by the structure of the EU's own assumptions and capabilities, and institutional constraints in third countries. At the same time, the cases underscore the importance of individuals as agents of change.

Highlights

In its broader external security engagements, the European Union (EU) has committed to including gender inclusive perspectives (European Commission 2016a)
We identified how individuals or femocrats played an influential part in including gender perspectives within Security Sector Reform (SSR) programmes
Femocrats acted as agents of change and promoted gender equality within security sector institutions by challenging the status quo to different degrees

Summary

Introduction

In its broader external security engagements, the EU has committed to including gender inclusive perspectives (European Commission 2016a). Neither the works on gender, SSR, and peacebuilding and CSDP missions, nor the limited ones on EU SSR account for the process of institutionalizing gender-inclusive practices and their implications for how we understand the EU as a gender and security actor. This article is limited in its scope by focusing exclusively on the EU’s practices as regards its role in facilitating gender inclusivity in SSR programmes, and does not capture gender inclusivity by other international actors. It undertakes theory-testing of the main assumptions of Feminist Institutionalism (FI), the theoretical approach we use. The final section concludes and situates the findings within wider debates

Feminist Institutionalism

Methodology

Assessing Gender Mainstreaming in EU’s Support for SSR programmes

Findings

Conclusion