Towards feminist peace
Changing the way we see - and implement - peace agreements
Achieving gender-equal peace starts with changing the way we view peace and peace agreements
The research has brought some important insights on what peace agreements are and how they become implemented. Some of these are summarized below.
Peace is political - peace agreements are best thought of as policy documents: they have many complex provisions and their implementation depends on a wide range of different actors working together and constantly (re-)negotiating what the implementation should be about
There is more than one way to implement a peace agreement - it is important to recognize the different pathways to peace, and the role actors often viewed as "informal" play in implementing them. To illustrate this diversity, I identify four implementation "logics": implementation as compliance, implementation as task fulfilment, implementation as institution-building and implementation as movement-building. Each logic implies a different set of mechanisms but also a different way of measuring what "success" might look like.
Social movements - including those let by women - are key for peace agreement implementation. Quantitative analysis of the data included in the GAP dataset showed a strong correlation between the strength of women's movement in a country and the likelihood that gender provisions will be implemented. The empirical work in Colombia also provided concrete examples how the very building and organizing of movements can provide opportunities for better implementation of a peace agreement.