The SSL ‘Book of the Month’ feature highlights a book in our collection that has been chosen by one of our Subject Consultants. This may be a recent addition to our stock or an existing item that we would like to share with you.
Women, Gender Equality, and Post-Conflict Transformation: Lessons Learned, Implications for the future
Edited by Joyce P. Kaufman and Kristen P. Williams
Routledge, 2017
Shelfmark: HQ1075.WOM 2017
The Book of the Month for March has been selected by Sarah Rhodes, Subject Consultant for International Development, Forced Migration, African and Commonwealth Studies. It was chosen to tie in with International Women’s Day (8th March 2018).
Book Overview
The end of formal hostilities in any given conflict provides an opportunity to transform society in order to secure a stable peace. This book builds on the existing feminist international relations literature as well as lessons of past cases that reinforce the importance of including women in the post-conflict transition process. These are important to our general understanding of gender relations in the conflict and post-conflict periods. Post-conflict transformation processes, including disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) programs, transitional justice mechanisms, reconciliation measures, and legal and political reforms, demonstrate that war and peace impact, and are impacted by, women and men differently.
Reviews:
‘Kaufman and Williams have given us a richly contextualized gender analysis of post-war patriarchy’s stubborn “sustainability”. They and their knowledgeable contributors have also revealed what women, when organized and powered by feminist analytical curiosity, can do to expose that unjust and wasteful faux “peace”. This is a wonderfully valuable book.’
Cynthia Enloe, author of Globalization and Militarism (updated 2nd edition, 2016)
‘In the last fifteen years, enthusiasm over the United Nations Security Council resolution on women, peace, and security has turned to disappointment. This valuable collaborative study explains why. Theoretical chapters identify how policies failed to anticipate the role of gender in post-conflict situations. A return to “normal” expectations of masculinity and femininity has hindered post-war reconstruction in many ways. Women, whose behaviour and responsibilities were often transformed during the conflict, found their post-war opportunities limited, for example, by job training that focused on traditional activities, while neglecting their new abilities and needs.
Matthew Evangelista, author of Gender, Nationalism, and War: Conflict on the Movie Screen
Where can I find it?
We have one lending copy of the title in stock. It is currently on display on top of our New Books Display Area (located around the corner from our Library Issue Desk) but is available to be borrowed. The shelfmark for the title is HQ1075.WOM 2017
We also have an electronic legal deposit copy of the title. Online access for this material is restricted to library computers in any of the Bodleian Libraries. A link to it can be found on SOLO.
What would your SSL Book of the Month be? Do you have a favourite book in our collection? If so, we would love to know what it is. Add a comment below or email us.