Finding Gender Equality in the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

Trojanowska beautifully demonstrates the intellectual pay-off of pursuing a ‘feminist curiosity’ in this important contribution. This book is a must-read not only for those working on, and with, the Women, Peace and Security agenda, but also for anyone interested in gender equality initiatives in global governance more broadly. Trojanowska skilfully elaborates three paradigms of gender equality, linked to security, development, and human rights, and shows how each influences – and is also reproduced through – work on the agenda in Australia and the Philippines. Based on wide-ranging and meticulous empirical research, Trojanowska’s conclusions about the opportunities for, and obstacles to, enhancing gender equality through the Women, Peace and Security agenda are trenchant and have resonance far beyond the case studies she presents.

-- Laura J. Shepherd, The University of Sydney

This book makes an important contribution to the Women, Peace and Security literature. Barbara K. Trojanowska breaks new ground by showing how progress (and the lack thereof) on the WPS agenda is closely related to different conceptions of gender equality. Case studies of the deliberations at the UN Security Council, within ASEAN and the Pacific Islands Forum, in the Philippines and in Australia show how international actors shape the WPS agenda through expansive or restricted understandings of gender equality. This is a must-read for policymakers, scholars and activists.

-- Dr. Chantal de Jonge Oudraat, Fellow, Wilson Center; former President of Women In International Security (WIIS)

This book ably demonstrates the importance of listening to women’s views on the impact of inequality in contexts of insecurity. It shows why gender equality must have tangible ways to further peace and security. Scholars and practitioners concerned with the WPS agenda will benefit from the inspiring findings of this book.

-- Elisabeth Porter, University of South Australia

In this book, author Barbara K. Trojanowska takes a broad interdisciplinary look at the women, peace, and security agenda and situates it within the larger issue of gender equality. Through in-depth case studies and interviews, the author draws on a range of voices to arrive at what she calls three dominant paradigms of gender equality. The result is an analysis that goes far beyond traditional understanding of the women, peace, and security agenda tied to UNSCR 1325 to address the transformational structural changes that need to happen if women are truly to be equal participants in the conversation about peace and security.

-- Joyce P. Kaufman, Whittier College

In a world where the international goal of gender equality is facing increasing backlash, Finding Gender Equality in the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda is essential reading. Trojanowska’s empirically rich, intersectional analysis will challenge your understanding of gender equality itself and demand attention to the messy international politics of promoting it.

-- David Duriesmith, University of Sheff