Women's Participation in Peacebuilding: a Missing Piece of the Puzzle?
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University of Pennsylvania ScholarlyCommons CUREJ - College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal College of Arts and Sciences 4-8-2011 Women's Participation in Peacebuilding: A Missing Piece of the Puzzle? Mary K. McCarthy University of Pennsylvania, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.upenn.edu/curej Part of the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation McCarthy, Mary K., "Women's Participation in Peacebuilding: A Missing Piece of the Puzzle?" 08 April 2011. CUREJ: College Undergraduate Research Electronic Journal, University of Pennsylvania, https://repository.upenn.edu/curej/132. This paper is posted at ScholarlyCommons. https://repository.upenn.edu/curej/132 For more information, please contact [email protected]. Women's Participation in Peacebuilding: A Missing Piece of the Puzzle? Keywords women, peacebuilding, civil war, Rwanda, Liberia, Social Sciences, Political Science, Jessica Stanton, Stanton, Jessica Disciplines Political Science This article is available at ScholarlyCommons: https://repository.upenn.edu/curej/132 WOMEN ’S PARTICIPATION IN PEACEBUILDING : A MISSING PIECE OF THE PUZZLE ? MARY MCCARTHY ADVISOR : JESSICA STANTON , PH.D. DEPARTMENT OF POLITICAL SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA HONORS THESIS 2011 Mary McCarthy | 1 Tables of Contents I. Introduction ...............................................................................................................6 II. Literature Review, Part I: Theoretical Perspectives on Peace-Building.............10 1. Addressing Fear and Mistrust ........................................................................................... 13 2. Rebuilding Inclusive Political and Economic Institutions............................................... 14 3. Reconciliation ...................................................................................................................... 17 4. Fostering Civil Society........................................................................................................ 19 III. Literature Review, Part II: A Causal Theory of Women as Peace-Builders .....24 1. Women and Peacebuilding:................................................................................................ 30 i. Addressing Fear and Mistrust .......................................................................................................... 31 ii. Rebuilding Political and Economic Institutions.............................................................................. 35 iii. Reconciliation................................................................................................................................ 38 iv. Fostering Civil Society .................................................................................................................. 40 IV. Case Selection and Research Design ...................................................................43 1. Methodology ........................................................................................................................ 43 i. Women’s Participation .................................................................................................................... 44 ii. Peace Outcomes.............................................................................................................................. 48 iii. Overall Comparison: Women’s Participation to Peace Outcomes................................................. 49 2. Case Selection ...................................................................................................................... 51 V. Case Studies............................................................................................................55 1. Rwandan Civil War: 1990—1993...................................................................................... 55 i. Conflict Background........................................................................................................................ 55 ii. Women’s Participation: Insubstantial ............................................................................................. 57 iii. Peace Outcome: Failure................................................................................................................. 64 2. Rwandan Genocide: 1994................................................................................................... 65 i. Conflict Background........................................................................................................................ 65 ii. Women’s Participation: Substantial................................................................................................ 68 iii. Peace Outcome: Success................................................................................................................ 84 3. Liberia’s First Civil War: 1989—1996.............................................................................. 85 i. Conflict Background........................................................................................................................ 85 ii. Women’s Participation: Substantial................................................................................................ 89 iii. Peace Outcome: Failure............................................................................................................... 103 4. Liberia’s Second Civil War: 1999—2003........................................................................ 104 i. Conflict Background...................................................................................................................... 104 ii. Women’s Participation: Substantial.............................................................................................. 106 iii. Peace Outcome: Success.............................................................................................................. 119 VI. Discussion ...........................................................................................................120 VII. Conclusion.........................................................................................................127 VIII. Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................130 IX. Works Cited.........................................................................................................131 Mary McCarthy | 2 List of Tables Table 1: Classification of Women's Participation ........................................ 48 Table 2: Women's Participation and Peace Outcomes ................................. 50 Table 3: Metrics of Women's Participation .................................................. 54 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations AFELL Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia AVEGA Association of the Widows of Rwanda CPA Comprehensive Peace Agreement CWO Concerned Women’s Organization DDR Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration DDRR Disarmament, Demobilization, Reinsertion and Reintegration ECOWAS Economic Community of West African States ECOMOG Economic Community Monitoring Group FAR Rwandan Armed Forces GNU Government of National Unity GOL Government of Liberia ICTR International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda INPFL Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia LURD Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy LWI Liberian Women’s Initiative MIGEFASO Ministry of Gender, Family and Social Affairs MIGEPROF Ministry of Gender and Women in Development MODEL Movement for Democracy in Liberia MARWOPNET Mano River Women’s Peace Network Mary McCarthy | 3 MP Member of Parliament MRND National Revolutionary Movement for Development NGO Non-Governmental Organization NPLF National Patriotic Front of Liberia RDRC Rwandan Demobilization and Reintegration Commission RPF Rwandan Patriotic Front RTLM Radio Television Libre des Milles Collins TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission SELF Special Emergency Life Food Programme ULIMO United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy WAFF Women Associated with Fighting Forces WIPNET Women in Peacebuilding Network Mary McCarthy | 4 QuickTime™ and a decompressor are needed to see this picture. “We are tired of war. We are tired of running. We are tired of begging for food. We are tired of our children being raped. We are now taking this stand to secure the future of our children. Because we believe, as custodians of society tomorrow, our children will ask us, mama, what was your role during the crisis?” — Leymah Gbowee, on behalf of Liberian women to Charles Taylor, President of Liberia Mary McCarthy | 5 I. Introduction The end of the Cold War ushered in a new era of international politics, characterized by a lack of dominant structure and a shifting system of world order. The number of intrastate conflicts has since increased dramatically, along with their duration and degree of complexity; as national systems of order break down, dormant antagonisms and repressed grievances reassert themselves. Especially within the Third World, these conflicts often threaten regional stability and are accompanied by high rates of civilian casualties and human rights violations. The prevalence and virulence of intrastate conflict in recent decades has had serious implications for women, most notably in that there is no longer a clear distinction between “the battlefield” and “the home front.” This increase in inclusive violence has meant that civilians, particularly women and children, account for the vast majority of those adversely affected by the