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Advancing Women Agency in Transitional Justice

Björkdahl, Annika LU and Mannergren, Johanna (2013) General Convention International Studies Association, 2013 p.1-23
Abstract
This paper explores the participation, presence and agency of women in the transitional justice processes. We are

concerned with the critical questions of how women agency is enabled and/or constrained in contemporary

transitional justice and peacebuilding processes and how the gendering of agency may affect transformations

towards a gender-just peace. Gendered hierarchies in peacebuilding and transitional justice processes result in

gendered peace gaps and a peace that does not resemble a gender-just peace. Transitional justice enjoys a

particular appeal due to the opportunities it offers to address human rights abuses committed against women and its potentially transformative effect on... (More)
This paper explores the participation, presence and agency of women in the transitional justice processes. We are

concerned with the critical questions of how women agency is enabled and/or constrained in contemporary

transitional justice and peacebuilding processes and how the gendering of agency may affect transformations

towards a gender-just peace. Gendered hierarchies in peacebuilding and transitional justice processes result in

gendered peace gaps and a peace that does not resemble a gender-just peace. Transitional justice enjoys a

particular appeal due to the opportunities it offers to address human rights abuses committed against women and its potentially transformative effect on gender-relations in post-conflict societies. Thus, this paper explores where women are located in the various transitional justice processes and maps what set of dispositions exist in these processes that incline women agents to act/react. More specifically, it investigates the accountability gap, the acknowledgement gap and the reparation gap in post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina from a genderperspective. Consequently, the analysis captures attempts by women to exercise creative, critical agency to address these gaps – agency which can be regarded as “transitional justice from below”. Through this analysis we attempt to address blind spots in the critical peacebuilding literature and advance critical thinking about the multifaceted practices of (critical) agency within the gendered hierarchies of transitional justice mechanisms. We conclude that women’s participation in transitional justice and peacebuilding processes is complex, multilayered, and constrained, yet creative. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
unpublished
subject
keywords
gender, peacebuilding, transitional justice, agency, gender-just peace
pages
22 pages
conference name
General Convention International Studies Association, 2013
conference location
San Francisco, United States
conference dates
2013-04-03 - 2013-04-06
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
32c22c8c-ba62-473f-9daa-ce59d9006804 (old id 3731877)
date added to LUP
2016-04-04 14:34:58
date last changed
2018-11-21 21:21:08
@misc{32c22c8c-ba62-473f-9daa-ce59d9006804,
  abstract     = {{This paper explores the participation, presence and agency of women in the transitional justice processes. We are<br/><br>
concerned with the critical questions of how women agency is enabled and/or constrained in contemporary<br/><br>
transitional justice and peacebuilding processes and how the gendering of agency may affect transformations<br/><br>
towards a gender-just peace. Gendered hierarchies in peacebuilding and transitional justice processes result in<br/><br>
gendered peace gaps and a peace that does not resemble a gender-just peace. Transitional justice enjoys a<br/><br>
particular appeal due to the opportunities it offers to address human rights abuses committed against women and its potentially transformative effect on gender-relations in post-conflict societies. Thus, this paper explores where women are located in the various transitional justice processes and maps what set of dispositions exist in these processes that incline women agents to act/react. More specifically, it investigates the accountability gap, the acknowledgement gap and the reparation gap in post-conflict Bosnia-Herzegovina from a genderperspective. Consequently, the analysis captures attempts by women to exercise creative, critical agency to address these gaps – agency which can be regarded as “transitional justice from below”. Through this analysis we attempt to address blind spots in the critical peacebuilding literature and advance critical thinking about the multifaceted practices of (critical) agency within the gendered hierarchies of transitional justice mechanisms. We conclude that women’s participation in transitional justice and peacebuilding processes is complex, multilayered, and constrained, yet creative.}},
  author       = {{Björkdahl, Annika and Mannergren, Johanna}},
  keywords     = {{gender; peacebuilding; transitional justice; agency; gender-just peace}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{1--23}},
  title        = {{Advancing Women Agency in Transitional Justice}},
  year         = {{2013}},
}