Women’s participation in peace processes: a review of literature

Abstract

ABSTRACTWomen play a prominent role in bringing about peace in post-conflict societies. Several studies have found the systematic and representative inclusion of women in conflict resolution processes to significantly increase the chances of sustainable peace. However, women’s contribution to peace processes are often underemphasized or ignored in conflict management research and praxis. It was not until the passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and seven other related resolutions that critical attention was given to women’s role in the peace process. This article provides an in-depth review of the literature on women’s contribution to conflict resolution and peacebuilding. The overall aim is to provide researchers and actors in the global peace market with a distillation of the salient studies and findings from research on women’s involvement in the peace process. Such an effort is necessary to bring together the sparse literature on women’s contribution to peace and to reveal existing gaps in the literature for future research.