Feminist approaches to peace and conflict: International human rights law disappearing and re-emerging?

Abstract

This chapter examines the extent to which feminist legal scholars draw on International Human Rights Law (IHLR) in undertaking peace and conflict research. This is a significant question because in feminist scholarship IHRL is treated as harbouring international law’s emancipatory potential as well as reproducing the gendered nature of international law. Our analysis of the literature unearths three trends. In some literature, IHRL is seen as the central tool in addressing peace and conflict. Other feminist scholars take a more equivocal approach acknowledging IHRL’s flaws and biases but accepting it has some role to play. In research on Women, Peace and Security, references to IHRL are almost absent but there is an emerging trend to reconsider its relevance. We highlight new questions arising within and across these three approaches and identify methodological and theoretical innovations within feminist peace and conflict research that can be employed to address these issues for future research. Show more