To settle for a gendered peace? Spaces for feminist grassroots mobilization in Northern Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina

This paper offers an examination of citizenship in the context of post-conflict transformation as an important scenario in which to investigate the possibilities for the inclusion of women and women’s demands in the transition to peace. Drawing on interview and ethnographic data collected in Northern Ireland and Bosnia-Herzegovina, the paper highlights a site of tension between the aspirations for transformation and inclusion set out internationally in UNSCR 1325 and the gender underpinnings of consociationalism that shape the broader political, social and cultural context of citizenship in these case studies. It illustrates that women and women’s claims are repeatedly side-lined in favour of matters that are deemed of more vital interest in the quest for ‘peace’, such as relations between ethno-national groups, security concerns and stability of institutions. Despite this damning failure, women and feminist activists continue to mobilise, as individuals and collectively, in order to make demands for social, political and cultural transformation. The paper argues that attending to these dynamics is crucial if we strive to transform the gender regimes underpinning war/peace and acknowledge women as agents in this process.