The WSP Agenda and the Promise of a Feminist Theory of Power-sharing with Siobhan Byrne, University of Alberta

Nov 6, 2023 | Women and Public Policy Program
Rubenstein 414ab (ellwood Democracy Lab) + Virtual Via Zoom
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Two powerful United Nations-led norms in conflict resolution and peace-building emerged at roughly the same time in the 1990s: power-sharing, which requires rival ethnic groups to negotiate a peace agreement and jointly serve in new post-conflict political institutions, and the women, peace, and security (WPS) agenda, which demands improved representation of women and gender in conflict resolution processes. While international organizations, states, and non-governmental organizations regularly advance both norms at peace tables worldwide, they are rarely brought together in conflict mediation and resolution processes. Consequently, women are regularly shut out from negotiations that produce power-sharing and are under-represented in post-conflict power-sharing institutions. Even when included, women’s priorities continue to come up against resilient gender norms and tropes. Dr. Siobhan Byrne traces the origins and rise of these two norms. She considers the possibility of bringing these two norms together while also sketching the contours of a new feminist theory of power-sharing.