Lesley Pruitt

All-Female Police Contingents: Feminism and the Discourse of Armed Protection

This article focuses on womens involvement in peacekeeping operations and the introduction in 2007 of an all-female formed police unit (FFPU). Possible benefits and challenges of deploying all-female contingents in peace operations are considered and feminist theories of international relations are drawn upon to evaluate arguments for including women in peace and security missions. Media discourses on the Indian FFPU deployed to Liberia in 2007 are analysed, revealing a potential to reshape attitudes about the role of women in peace and security, and emphasizing that femininity need not be incompatible with strength and capacity for protection.

'Music, Youth and Peacebuilding in Northern Ireland

This article presents a preliminary analysis from a case study conducted in Northern Ireland. Participant observation and semi-structured interviewing were used to learn whether music might serve as a useful tool for engaging Northern Irish youth in peacebuilding. Obstacles and limitations certainly exist, but the data suggests that music can be used to engage youth in peacebuilding in three key ways: (1) music can be useful in bringing youth together to share meaning, and as such is an alternative way to engage in dialogue for building peace; (2) music-making can help youth gain self-esteem and reconsider their view of others in a way that can help to destabilize conflict identities; and (3) by taking part in musical programs, violence by, against, and between youth may be reduced or prevented by changing the way youth experience the spaces they inhabit and/or by providing alternative activities to rioting.

'Fixing the girls': neoliberal discourse and girls' participation in peacebuilding

Does gender matter when planning youth peacebuilding projects? This article presents research findings from two youth peacebuilding projects – in Australia and Northern Ireland – and identifies several barriers to participation girls faced. It sheds light on reasons why girls participate in some peacebuilding activities but not others, highlighting the role of neoliberal discourse – placing the burden of responsibility for equal participation on individuals rather than program design or other factors. It concludes by proposing important questions for future research and identifying the conditions under which peacebuilding projects might benefit from including some gender-segregated activities.

Looking Back, Moving Forward: International Approaches to Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

Based on a review of existing literature, this article provides an initial analysis of obstacles to addressing impunity for widespread conflict-related sexual violence. First, a background of trends of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in conflict is provided. The article then outlines why addressing impunity is important for building peace and ending conflict-related SGBV. Next, the article presents an overview of developments and mechanisms adopted by the international community in an attempt to address impunity. Yet despite these advances, conflict-related sexual violence remains widespread and impunity persists. Thus, the final section of article sets out one proposal for addressing the problem—increasing the number of women working in international peace operations through the creation of United Nations–sponsored Womens Police Service (UNWPS), which would recruit, train, and deploy womens contingents for policing in international peace operations.

Multiculturalism at play: young people and citizenship in Australia

This article analyzes an Australian theatre program that engaged diverse youth in (re)visioning citizenship and multiculturalism by creating new notions of belonging and altering perceptions of Aboriginal culture and its value in Australia. This kind of work – where young peoples understandings of inclusion and diversity can be unsettled, critiqued, and developed – is crucial because current approaches to Australian multiculturalism tend to rely on Anglo-centric norms and fail to account for indigeneity. Drawing on participant observation and semi-structured interviews, I argue that youth theatre based on reflexive practices and cross-cultural sharing may offer a useful tool for young peoples education for inclusive citizenship in a multicultural, super-diverse context. When practiced thoughtfully, such programs can offer space for rethinking citizenship and belonging in ways that recognize the centrality of Indigenous culture and critically reflect on the limitations of the dominant cultures reliance on Anglo cultural norms and ideas.

Putting participation on stage: examining participatory theatre as an alternative site for political participation

ABSTRACT Participation, it has been said, is a central lynchpin of citizenship and democracy. Unfortunately, studies have shown for some time that political participation is on the decline in most Western democracies. Particularly for scholars and policy analysts who define political participation in democracy purely as voting, party membership or in terms of a narrow ‘arena’ definition of politics, the conclusion is clear: levels of political illiteracy are rising, while political participation is declining. Yet, the turn away from formal democratic politics and conventional forms of political participation is only one part of the picture. There is now an extensive literature suggesting a proliferation of new developments and alternative forms of political participation. But even as scholars have become more attuned to these new forms of political participation, the focus remains too narrow. Responding to Iris Marion Youngs call to encourage alternative communicative forms in political participation, this article explores the capacity of participatory theatre to be an alternative site of political participation. By surveying three applications of participatory theatre, Jana Sanskriti, Journey of Asylum – Waiting and Betrayed – the article shows how theatre premised on spect-actors set against a communal backdrop can prefigure a more participatory political community.

Reflections on Possibilities and Challenges of Discussing Sexual and Gender‐based Violence (SGBV) in Role‐play Simulations

Addressing sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) in international peace and security frameworks is crucial. Yet SGBV often remains silenced in the peace and security literature. Relatedly SGBV tends to be marginalised in the classroom. This can perpetuate challenges to achieving peace by producing graduates and practitioners who are neither knowledgeable about, nor prepared to deal with, SGBV in practice. To explore possibilities for engaging with this challenging topic, this article reflects on a role-play simulation in a graduate course on International Peacekeeping. In doing so, it discusses prospects for educating students around SGBV and challenges to doing so effectively. Role-play simulations may be useful tools for engaging with such complex topics. At the same time, learning outcomes will improve if the role-play is introduced after discussing a broader range of relevant literature and debates around gender in general and SGBV in particular. Furthermore, even with prior discussion, educators may need to prompt reflection and discussion around gender if students do not initiate such conversations themselves. Actions like this may have positive outcomes for gender mainstreaming of the discipline insofar as they in better prepare students for future professional roles in peace and security.

The Women, Peace and Security agenda: Australia and the agency of girls

This article argues that young women and girls are significant stakeholders in peace and security efforts. Understanding their roles, views and capacity is essential to an adequate perspective on peace and security. Yet girls remain the most marginalised group when it comes to peace and security efforts globally. Gender- and age-based hierarchies often leave their interests ignored. Excluding girls hinders prospects for sustainable peace by denying their rights, entrenching inequity and affecting future chances for increasing womens participation. Australian government statements on Women, Peace and Security are evaluated on how they relate to young women and girls. The article presents a series of cases to analyse how young women are impacted by security factors, how they are actively working to create peace and security, and how to better include girls in seeking peace. Options for action by Australian policymakers are discussed. 本文指出，青少年女性是和平与安全努力的重要相关方。正确的和平安全观需要理解这些青少年女性的角色、观点和能力。但全世界但凡涉及和平安全，女孩都是一个最边缘化的群体。性别及年龄的等级制忽视了她们的利益。对女孩的排斥拒绝了她们的权利，强化了不平等，妨碍了妇女未来的参与，这都不利于未来的持久和平。作者评估了澳大利亚政府关于妇女、和平及安全的宣示与青少年女性有多大关系。本文分析了安全因素如何影响年轻女性，青年女性右如何积极致力于创建和平及安全，和平事业该如何吸收女孩等等。作者还讨论了澳大利亚政策制定者的行动选择。

Gendering the study of children and youth in peacebuilding

Building on the work of feminist scholars and others arguing for considering the ‘everyday’ in peace and conflict studies, this article applies a gendered lens to understanding young peoples everyday experiences of peace and violence. It draws on case studies using participant observation and semi-structured interviews with peer leaders in programs that use dance and creative movement to involve young people in peacebuilding in the USA and Colombia. These programs are unique in that their leaders are mostly young women. Gender has a significant impact on the everyday ways young people experience conflict and whether and how they will become involved in building peace; likewise, accounting for gender in a context-specific way may have valuable impacts for the design, implementation, and evaluation of programs aimed at supporting and encouraging youth participation in peacebuilding. Based on what has been learned from the participants, this article argues that by applying a gendered lens in a way that develops a focus on everyday gender-inclusive hospitality, rather than focusing on ‘fixing’ excluded individuals, youth peacebuilding programs may fruitfully challenge existing norms around achieving gender equity in participation and thus improve options for building peace.