A feminist international law of peace and security

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This project develops the theoretical foundations and normative content of an international law that can more effectively deliver on gender equality and sustainable peace. For over a century, these two goals have defined the women's peace movement and, as early as 1915, activists were calling on states to recognize that neither equality nor peace could be fully secured without acknowledging the intimate relationship between the two. In the aftermath of WWII states sought to advance these goals but through parallel international law projects starting with the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945 and the Universal Declaration of Human Right in 1948. Notwithstanding a plethora of efforts, progress over the last seven decades on both fronts has been patchy and partial. Across the globe, equality is far from being realized and measures to prevent conflict have all too often failed.In 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 when, at long last, states formally acknowledged the link between the two objectives and, in doing so, founded the UN's Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS Agenda). In the intervening 17 years, the Council has adopted a further seven resolutions leading to significant advances on some fronts, most notably, international action to tackle sexual violence in armed conflict. However, women's groups and scholars are increasingly doubtful that the potential for transformative change and radical reform as originally envisaged by Resolution 1325 will materialize. This scepticism is due to a number of reasons including the ambiguity of the texts of the resolutions and a lack of political commitment. The very fact that states regard the WPS agenda as a set of policy objectives rather than as a political framework founded on legal obligations means that progress is likely to be slow at best. Our project addresses these two core problems by elaborating on the legal content of the agenda. In that process, we will pave the way for what we ambitiously describe as a 'feminist international law of peace and security'. In short, this proposal represents the initial stage of a long-term vision that builds on the legacies of the past to develop the foundations and content of a feminist international law of peace and security that offers an alternative gender-sensitive account of international law that can make a real and lasting difference to the lives of women, not least those in conflict affected zones.The project is divided into two inter-related research streams. The first focuses on the conceptual and normative ambiguities of the WPS agenda and interrogates our understandings of 'peace' and 'security' through different disciplines and traditions to craft an enriched feminist reading of what is implicated by both concepts under international law. In the second stream we turn our attention to the notion of conflict prevention and ask whether a feminist international law would open up the possibilities for a broader understanding of conflict prevention thereby providing a normative framework that more effectively delivers on prevention. Over the 3 year project cycle, we will undertake desk-based and archival research, convene workshops involving a wide range of stakeholders, including scholars from other disciplines and policy-makers and -shapers at domestic and international levels and convene a WPS Global Congress. Our dissemination strategy has been planned to maximize the impact of our findings and to reach the widest possible audience, not least women's groups operating in conflict-affected regions. We will created a one-stop global resource hub that will host our research outputs including articles for an academic audience; reports and briefing papers to assist policy-makers develop law and policies with transformative potential; advocacy and litigation tools aimed at further empowering women's groups; and comments and blogs for all audiences including, importantly, the general public.