Gender in Armed Conflict and Peace Processes

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of gender relations and cognate terms such as gender order, gender regime and gender complementarity. It applies them to militarisation and armed conflict, war-resistance and the pursuit of peace. A perceived link between militarism, nationalism and patriarchy is considered as prompting women-only antimilitarist organisation. A distinction is made between peace making and peace building, and women's contribution to the latter is illustrated.  Women's life experience, rather than women's nature, is proposed as a source of the social courage and social intelligence that are specially productive in peace building.