The Politics of Women, Peace, and Security in UN Mediation - Softcover

Standfield

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1009512285 ISBN 13: 9781009512282

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2025

Synopsis

This groundbreaking book offers a comprehensive analysis of the United Nations' efforts to incorporate the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda into its mediation practices. Based on extensive fieldwork and primary material, the book examines how gendered and racialised ideas about mediation as an 'art' or a 'science' have shaped the UN's approach to WPS. Senior mediators view mediation as an art of managing relationships with mostly male negotiators, meaning that including women can threaten parties' consent to the process. Meanwhile, experts and headquarters units see mediation as a science, resulting in the co-optation of gender expertise and local women to reinforce technical approaches to mediation. This has hindered the WPS agenda's goal of meaningful women's participation in peace processes. This book is an essential read for scholars, policymakers, and practitioners interested in gender, peace, and security.

About this title

About the Author

Catriona Standfield is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Worcester State University. She was previously a research fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies. Her work has been awarded by the International Studies Association and the Academic Council on the UN System.

Edition details

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1009512285
• ISBN 13: 9781009512282
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 266