Gender, Nationalism and Conflict Transformation: New Themes and Old Problems in Northern Ireland Politics (Routledge Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution)

"Utilising Northern Ireland as a case study, this book presents an analysis of the gender and sexual politics of conflict transformation. The book synthesises a vast array of international sources with the author's empirical and theoretical research to produce a powerful gendered critique of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland. It maps the negative effects of the region's violent conflict on gender and sexual equality and explores the potential of the conflict transformational processes, set in motion by the 1998 Peace Agreement, to transform relationships between different genders and sexualities. Starting from the feminist proposition that building peace requires the inclusion of issues of gender and sexual equality, the author analyses how the new institutional and semantic structures of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland preserved older conservative narratives about gender and sexuality. As older narratives clashed with progressive forms of sexual and gender politics, the core sites of conflict transformation became arenas of gender and sexual struggles. The book outlines these struggles, and charts the positive and inclusive visions of peace developed by activists throughout the period of conflict transformation. This book will be of much interest to students of gender studies, conflict transformation, ethnic conflict, peace studies and Irish politics"-- Provided by publisher Cover 1 Half Title 2 Series Page 3 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Dedication 6 Table of Contents 8 Acknowledgements 9 1 Introduction 12 Hope and history 12 New themes and old problems 14 Gender past and present 16 Structure of the book 19 Notes 22 References 23 2 Gender, sexuality and conflict transformation 29 Gendered conflicts 29 Constituting women 32 Gender, power and conflict transformation 38 Arenas of resistance 40 The ‘other side’ of gender 42 The case study 44 Notes 45 References 46 3 Gendering the Accord 51 Realities and exclusions 52 Gender and pre-talks 53 Reality, resistance and recognition 56 Gendered specificity, resistance and recognition 60 Gender inclusion: resistance, recognition and redistribution 64 Recognising gender and sexuality 67 Notes 70 References 71 4 Gender, sexuality and the new institutions 76 The Northern Ireland Assembly 76 Gender representation 79 Gender violence and public life 82 Gender and agenda setting 86 Formal politics: recognition and redistribution 87 Redistributive mechanisms 88 Rights, equality and inclusion 93 Notes 97 References 97 5 Masculinities, power and transition 104 Masculinities and conflict transformation 104 Masculinities, war and peace 109 Masculinities and gender power 110 Masculinities in transition: macro to micro 112 Masculinities and militarism 114 Scripting gender transitions 115 Masculinities and communities 117 The masculinisation of social marginalisation 120 Masculinities: an on-going problem 121 Notes 122 References 122 6 Gender and renegotiating the peace 128 A fractured past 128 De-gendering renegotiations of the past 132 The persistence of violence 134 Haass–O’Sullivan Draft 7 138 The Stormont House Agreement 142 Notes 143 References 143 7 Bodies and conflict transformation 147 Conflict and bodies 147 Sexualities 149 Armed groups and sexuality 152 Conflict, power and bodies 155 Sexualities and conflict transformation 157 Peacebuilding and LGB&T equality 159 Reproductive rights 163 A kind of different struggle 169 Notes 171 References 171 8 Conclusions 177 Gendered reflections on ‘the peace’ 177 Creating visions of peace 180 References 181 Index 182 A work that genders the process of conflict transformation in Northern Ireland and both documents and analyzes the effects of the restructuring of its politics on gender and sexual equality.