Woman raising hand showing peace sign at trump rally in Phoenix.

Feministische Friedensforschung

Feministische Perspektiven in der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung konzentrieren sich auf die Geschlechterverhältnisse in Kriegen, Konflikten oder in der Friedenskonsolidierung sowie auf die Machtverhältnisse in der internationalen Politik. Gerade Kriege stellen Frauen vor besondere Herausforderungen: Sie sind nicht nur häufiger Opfer von sexualisierter Kriegsgewalt, sondern werden in der Regel auch von der Teilnahme an Friedensverhandlungen und Entscheidungsprozessen ausgeschlossen. Aber nicht nur Kriege schränken geschlechtersensible Menschenrechte ein, auch autoritäre Staaten und rechte Bewegungen bekämpfen selbstverständlich geglaubte Menschenrechte, wie die reproduktiven Rechte von Frauen oder die Rechte von LGBTIQ+ Personen. Die feministische Friedens- und Konfliktforschung analysiert Ursachen und Folgen von Geschlechterungleichheit und -diskriminierung, blickt aber auch auf verschiedene Gewaltformen, also auf physische, strukturelle und systemische Gewalt, wie z.B. Sexismus und Rassismus, und wie man diesen begegnen kann.

Unsere neue Blogreihe will die Vielfältigkeit der feministischen Forschung in der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung zeigen und politische Erfolge und Misserfolge sichtbar machen. Dafür diskutiert sie feministische Fragen in den Themenfeldern Außen- und Sicherheitspolitik, Friedensförderung, Menschenrechte, Flucht und Migration, sowie gesellschaftspolitische und soziale Gerechtigkeit. Die Blogreihe will zeigen, wie solche inklusiven, feministischen Perspektiven die Friedens- und Konfliktforschung aber auch die politischen und sozialen Verhältnisse weltweit verändern können.

Feminist Peace Research

Feminist perspectives in peace and conflict studies focus on gender relations in wars, conflicts, or peacebuilding, as well as on power relations in international politics. War especially poses special challenges for women, not only are they more often victims of conflict related sexual violence but are usually excluded from participating peace negotiations and decision-making processes. But it is not only wars that restrict gender-sensitive human rights, authoritarian states and right-wing movements also fight human rights that were considered self-evident, such as women’s reproductive rights or the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons. Feminist peace and conflict research analyses the causes and consequences of gender inequality and discrimination, but also looks at different forms of violence, i.e. physical, structural and systemic violence, such as sexism and racism, and how these can be countered.

Our new blog series intends to show the diversity of feminist research in peace and conflict studies and to make political successes and failures visible. To this end, in this blog series authors discuss feminist issues in the thematic fields of foreign and security policy, peacebuilding, human rights, displacement, and migration, as well as socio-political and social justice. The blog series aims to show how such inclusive feminist perspectives can change peace and conflict research, but also political and social conditions worldwide.

Photo: AJ Colores via unsplash // Banner: Feewiki via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Beiträge // Posts

Keeping up the Ban against FGM/C: A Strong Signal for Reproductive Health and Rights from The Gambia to the World

8. August 2024 und
Photo of women with matching t-shirts, one is holding up a sign that says "Hear the voices of FGM/C survivors"
Despite a 2015 ban, Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) remains practiced in The Gambia. A recent bill to repeal the ban now endangered legislative progress so many Gambian women have been holding onto as well as longstanding efforts of civil society organizations. On 15 ...

Backlash Against LGBTIQ+ Rights in Peacebuilding: Raising Awareness During Pride Month

26. Juni 2024
people protesting on a pride parade with colorful balloons.
June is celebrated as pride month worldwide. It highlights the achievements that have been made regarding the rights of people with diverse sexual orientation, gender identity and expressions, or sex characteristics. It also raises awareness about ongoing structural ...

Shattered Lives: The Global Crisis of Sexual Violence in Conflict

19. Juni 2024
colorful posters and signs protest sexual violence
June 19th is the international day for the elimination of sexual violence in conflict. It is a day of silent remembrance, as the crime of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) is not a priority on political agendas. Survivors are often too traumatized to report, or experience ...

The 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference: An opportunity to push gender responsive action

27. Mai 2024 , und
protester holding sign "Climate Justice for Gender Justice
In preparation for the UN Climate Change Conference, held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November of 2024, subsidiary bodies will meet 3-13 June at the Bonn Climate Change Conference to decide which urgent issues shall be discussed in Baku. Compared to the early years of the UN Climate ...

Time for True Stories: Stereotypes Absolve Gendered Violence against Indigenous in Canada

3. Mai 2024
Abbildung einer indigenen Frau, zusammengesetzt aus vielen einzelnen Portraitfotos
Across North America, May 5 is a day to commemorate the thousands of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, two-spirit, and gender diverse people. Beyond giving space for remembrance and mourning, May 5 is connected to the aims of building knowledge, raising public ...

Beyond the Code: Unveiling Gender Dynamics in AI and Cybersecurity for International Security

14. März 2024 und
Image shows a screen with footage from two surveillance cameras and the caption "Camera 08" underneath. The footage shows an open room with several people, in the front you can see two women wearing medical masks
Emerging technologies are transforming foreign and security policy as they challenge traditional understandings of power, influence and security. Developments in artificial intelligence (AI) and the increasing importance of cyberspace are some of the most prominent in this ...

Zum Internationalen Frauentag: Die Situation von Frauen in Afghanistan

8. März 2024 , und
Frau mit Kopftuch und langer Kleidung besprüht eine große Holzplatte mit bunten Farben.
Seit der Machtübernahme der Taliban am 15. August 2021 hat sich die Situation von Frauen und Mädchen in Afghanistan dramatisch verschlechtert. Anlässlich des Internationalen Frauentags haben die PRIF-Forscherinnen Dr. habil. Simone Wisotzki und Irem Demirci mit Dr. Alema ...

Beyond Zero Tolerance: The Persisting Challenge of Sexual Abuse by UN Peacekeepers

4. Januar 2024
The United Nations (UN) deploys peacekeepers worldwide to help build peace and security. Meanwhile, a serious problem persists: sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) perpetrated by peacekeepers. Despite extensive efforts, including codes of conduct, sanctions, and training, ...

New Guidelines for Germany’s Feminist Foreign Policy: The Need To Translate Norms into Political Practice

10. März 2023 und
various silhouettes of female coded people
Feminist foreign policy (FFP) should aim at revising patriarchal and colonial power structures, changing exclusive male-dominated decision-making processes, and designing international politics from a perspective of gender justice. With their new guidelines, the German Foreign ...

Gender Equality in Times of a Full-Scale War on Ukraine: A Hope for a Better Future?

24. Februar 2023
A painting by British street artist Banksy is seen on a building destroyed by fighting in Borodyanka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. The painting shows a woman doing a handstand, apparently on the wreckage.
The work on promoting gender equality in Ukraine continues even in the time of full-scale war, proving that the times of crisis could be used as an opportunity for a positive transformation. Tireless efforts of civil society and its prominent allies in politics have already had ...

22 Years of Resolution 1325: Kosovo Women’s Voices Remain Absent from the Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia

9. Januar 2023
Frauen, die ein Banner aufhängen mit einer albanischen Aufschrift und der englischen Übersetzung „Resolution 1325 guarantees us participation in Negotiation.“
On October 31, 2000, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) adopted Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security (WPS), recognizing the different needs and roles of women and girls during conflicts. By that time, Kosovo was one of the post-war contexts where the resolution ...

Here, There, and Everywhere: Feminist Resistance beyond the “Women, Peace and Security” Agenda in Post-Coup Myanmar

24. November 2022
Image shows barricades using traditional Sarongs as a means of Protest in Myanmar
As a landmark in the movement to increase global attention to women’s critical role in participation, protection, prevention, relief and recovery in conflict settings, the UN Security Council’s resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) lend reference power to gender ...

“For this Forced Heaven”: Women’s Rights as the Path to Democracy in Iran

27. Oktober 2022
Ornamental image of eyes and figures with hands in front of their faces
Iran’s streets have been the scene of inspiring portraits created by women and young girls chanting “women, life, freedom” over the past six weeks. Starting as a reaction to the death of 22-year-old Zhina (Mahsa) Amini, who was killed by the so-called “morality police” ...

The Continuing Relevance of the “Women, Peace and Security” Agenda in the Context of Russia’s War on Ukraine

10. Oktober 2022
A women and three children standing on a dirt road with soldiers in the background
Ukraine has become one of the first countries to launch a National Action Plan (NAP) of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS) during a localized armed conflict and to update it during the full-scale invasion of the country. This blog unveils some of the ways that gender and ...

Trendy oder transformativ? Feministische Außenpolitik kann mehr

5. August 2022
Grafik: Zwei Köpfe auf lilafarbenem Hintergrund mit Weltkugel in einer Sprechblase
Feministische Außenpolitik erlebt derzeit einen Aufschwung, die aktuellen Konzepte variieren jedoch stark in Form und Umfang. Obwohl die Theorie einen Paradigmenwechsel vorsieht, der deutlich über die Partizipation von Frauen und marginalisierten Gruppen an politischen ...

Rechte, Repräsentanz, Ressourcen, Diversität: Wie könnte eine feministische Außenpolitik für Deutschland aussehen?

28. Juli 2022 , und
Annalena Baerbock am Redepult im Litauischen Außenministerium (22.04.2022)
Die Bundesregierung bekennt sich in ihrem Koalitionsvertrag zur Idee einer feministischen Außenpolitik. Deutschland folgt damit den Beispielen Schwedens, Kanadas und insgesamt neun anderer Länder, die verschiedene Formen feministischer Außenpolitik eingeführt haben. Aktuell ...

Der gender bias im internationalen Flüchtlingsschutz: Besonderer Schutzbedarf trifft auf ungleiche Zugänge

30. Juni 2022
Demo zum Internationalen Frauentag in London mit Schildern mit der Aufschrift "#SetHerFree"
Frauen, Mädchen und LGBTIQ+-Personen sind aufgrund ihrer besonderen Gewaltbetroffenheit sowohl auf Fluchtwegen als auch im potentiellen Aufnahmeland besonders zu schützen. Doch das internationale Flüchtlingsschutzsystem unterliegt einem male bias, der aus feministischer ...

Feminist Research Perspectives in Peace and Conflict Studies and Consultancy Work

25. Mai 2022 und
Mural of woman and man in black and white with wavy shapes.
Feminist approaches in peace and conflict studies have been neglected for a long time – but they are currently on the rise. Interestingly, a similar trend may be observed in the practice of peacebuilding. While researchers and consultants base their approaches on similar ...

Feministische Perspektiven in der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung

17. Mai 2022 und
Woman raising hand showing peace sign at trump rally in Phoenix.
Feministische Perspektiven in der Friedens- und Konfliktforschung konzentrieren sich auf Geschlechterverhältnisse in Kriegen, Konflikten oder in der Friedensförderung. Die Forschung analysiert Ursachen und Folgen von Geschlechterungleichheit und -diskriminierung, blickt aber ...