Equal opportunity peacekeeping : women, peace, and security in post-conflict states / Sabrina Karim and Kyle Beardsley.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 243-260) and index.

"Recent developments such as Sweden's Feminist Foreign Policy, the "Hillary Doctrine," and the integration of women into combat roles in the U.S. have propelled gender equality to the forefront of international politics. The UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations, however, has been integrating gender equality into peacekeeping missions for nearly two decades as part of the women, peace and security agenda that has been most clearly articulated in UNSC Resolution 1325. To what extent have peacekeeping operations achieved gender equality in peacekeeping operations and been vehicles for promoting gender equality in post-conflict states? While there have been major improvements related to women's participation and protection, there is still much left to be desired. Sabrina Karim and Kyle Beardsley argue that gender power imbalances between the sexes and among genders place restrictions on the participation of women in peacekeeping missions. Specifically, discrimination, a relegation of women to safe spaces, and sexual exploitation, abuse, harassment, and violence (SEAHV) continue to threaten progress on gender equality. Using unique cross-national data on sex-disaggregated participation of peacekeepers and on the allegations of SEAHV, as well as original data from the UN Mission in Liberia, the authors examine the origins and consequences of these challenges. Karim and Beardsley also identify and examine how increasing the representation of women in peacekeeping forces, and even more importantly through enhancing a more holistic value for "equal opportunity," can enable peacekeeping operations to overcome the challenges posed by power imbalances and be more of an example of and vehicle for gender equality globally."-- Provided by publisher.

Are blue helmets just for boys? -- Part I: History and theory -- The evolution of gender reforms in UN peacekeeping missions -- Gender power imbalances in peacekeeping missions -- Part II: Discrimination, protection, and SEAHV in UN peacekeeping missions (2006-2013) -- Discrimination and protection revisited: female participation in peacekeeping operations -- The spoils of peace: SEAHV in peacekeeping operations -- Part III: Discrimination, protection, and SEAHV in the UN mission in Liberia -- Perspectives on discrimination, protection, and SEAHV in UN mission in Liberia -- On the ground: local legacies of gender reforms i the UN mission in Liberia / Sabrina Karim, Kyle Beardsley, Robert Blair, and Michael Gilligan -- A call for equal opportunity peacekeeping -- Appendix 1: chapter 4 appendix -- Appendix 2: chapter 5 appendix -- Appendix 3: chapter 6 appendix -- Appendix 4: chapter 7 appendix.