Book contents
- The Politics of Women, Peace, and Security in UN Mediation
- The Politics of Women, Peace, and Security in UN Mediation
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Where Are the Women in UN Mediation?
- 2 The WPS Agenda and UN Mediation
- Part I Narratives
- Part II Practices
- Part III Subjects
- 6 Femininities in UN Mediation
- 7 Masculinities in UN Mediation
- 8 Decolonial Feminist Peacemaking
- Appendix
- References
- Index
7 - Masculinities in UN Mediation
from Part III - Subjects
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 December 2024
- The Politics of Women, Peace, and Security in UN Mediation
- The Politics of Women, Peace, and Security in UN Mediation
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Tables
- Acknowledgements
- Abbreviations
- 1 Where Are the Women in UN Mediation?
- 2 The WPS Agenda and UN Mediation
- Part I Narratives
- Part II Practices
- Part III Subjects
- 6 Femininities in UN Mediation
- 7 Masculinities in UN Mediation
- 8 Decolonial Feminist Peacemaking
- Appendix
- References
- Index
Summary
Chapter 7 explores how the logic of UN mediation as an art produces masculinities, particularly the subjects of ‘the mediator’, ‘conflict parties’, and ‘youths’. The first part examines the narrative representations of ‘the mediator’ as a political man who should show good judgement, have excellent interpersonal skills, and be spatially mobile. ‘The mediator’ has to be empathetic and good at listening – feminised traits that operate as capital for male mediators, but less so for women. In addition, the selection process for mediators draws from the masculinised professions of diplomacy and politics and the informal, male-dominated networks of diplomats at the UN. This chapter presents descriptive findings on the gender and career backgrounds of senior UN mediators. The second part of the chapter examines representations of local men. ‘Local men’ – often equivalent to the ‘conflict parties’ – function as the constitutive outside of ‘the mediator’. ‘Conflict parties’ are represented as emotional, traditional, and irrational, recalling colonial constructions of the ‘other’. Meanwhile, male ‘youths’ appear not as political agents, but as vectors of senseless violence. Thus, a colonial hierarchy of masculinities exists in which local men are subordinate to the mediator.
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- Information
- The Politics of Women, Peace, and Security in UN Mediation , pp. 163 - 182Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2025