Training gender: Discursive analysis

<p>The aim of this thesis is to examine the discursive practices that have arisen from gender training in peace operations with the following research questions: “how is the discourse of ‘gender-awareness’ constructed through UN gender-training material for peacekeepers? How does this discourse contribute to further shaping representations of gender, violence and security?” To help answer my research questions, I proceed to a discourse analysis of the gender-training package created in 2001 by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) called Gender and Peacekeeping In-Mission Training. The analytical frameworks chosen for this research paper are Michel Foucault’s notion of discourse and Laura Shepherd’s ‘analytical strategies’. Using Foucault’s understanding of discourse, this paper examines the social practices of gender in the military field (peace and security): how are these social practices embedded in knowledge (in what ways are the notions of gender approached? Do they form a universal truth?)? How does this discourse act through and upon subjects (male and female peacekeepers)? Building on Shepherd’s work, this thesis seeks to interrogate and deconstruct the concept of ‘gender-awareness’ in the UN training material around three dominant discursive sites (called Shepherd’s ‘nodal points’): [1] ‘how the relations between women and men are structured’ (gender), [2] ‘how they are affected by violent conflict’ (gender and violence), and [3] ‘how the mere presence of peacekeepers further impacts on those relations’ (gender, violence and security). The literature review first addresses the construction of feminities and masculinities in war and peace. It demonstrates that women are constructed as being ‘peacemakers’ and that their feminity is shaped as being ‘peaceful’ and as ‘mother of the nation’ whilst masculinities are shaped through war. Secondly, it looks at the ways in which gender has been integrated (or mainstreamed) into UN policies: showing gender as a synonym for women. The research discovers that ‘gender-awareness’ as a discourse in the UN gender-training material is composed of: [1] gender that equates ‘sex’ and ‘women’, [2] the dichotomy between women positioned as ‘victims’ and men as ‘heroes’ (expected normal behaviour) and [3] universals such as women’s rights, which ignore cultural contexts in their approach to gender. The paper also further investigates the discourse of ‘gender-awareness training’, which I argue has been established as a ‘tool’ in the military field, but not as a critical concept. This tool seeks to produce understanding (knowledge, i.e. what is produced as truth) of gender, violence and security and to regulate the agents’ (i.e. male peacekeepers’) behaviours. These findings are important as they add to the literature which demonstrates how gender is de-politicised while sex is politicised and how women are excluded from both the realm of peace (security) and the realm of war (violence). It reinforces the idea that discourse is repeated and that for the UN to (re-)think gender in meaningful and creative ways, it becomes necessary to deconstruct the way power structures are shared.</p>

Training gender: Discursive analysis

<p>The aim of this thesis is to examine the discursive practices that have arisen from gender training in peace operations with the following research questions: “how is the discourse of ‘gender-awareness’ constructed through UN gender-training material for peacekeepers? How does this discourse contribute to further shaping representations of gender, violence and security?” To help answer my research questions, I proceed to a discourse analysis of the gender-training package created in 2001 by the United Nations Department of Peacekeeping Operations (UN DPKO) called Gender and Peacekeeping In-Mission Training. The analytical frameworks chosen for this research paper are Michel Foucault’s notion of discourse and Laura Shepherd’s ‘analytical strategies’. Using Foucault’s understanding of discourse, this paper examines the social practices of gender in the military field (peace and security): how are these social practices embedded in knowledge (in what ways are the notions of gender approached? Do they form a universal truth?)? How does this discourse act through and upon subjects (male and female peacekeepers)? Building on Shepherd’s work, this thesis seeks to interrogate and deconstruct the concept of ‘gender-awareness’ in the UN training material around three dominant discursive sites (called Shepherd’s ‘nodal points’): [1] ‘how the relations between women and men are structured’ (gender), [2] ‘how they are affected by violent conflict’ (gender and violence), and [3] ‘how the mere presence of peacekeepers further impacts on those relations’ (gender, violence and security). The literature review first addresses the construction of feminities and masculinities in war and peace. It demonstrates that women are constructed as being ‘peacemakers’ and that their feminity is shaped as being ‘peaceful’ and as ‘mother of the nation’ whilst masculinities are shaped through war. Secondly, it looks at the ways in which gender has been integrated (or mainstreamed) into UN policies: showing gender as a synonym for women. The research discovers that ‘gender-awareness’ as a discourse in the UN gender-training material is composed of: [1] gender that equates ‘sex’ and ‘women’, [2] the dichotomy between women positioned as ‘victims’ and men as ‘heroes’ (expected normal behaviour) and [3] universals such as women’s rights, which ignore cultural contexts in their approach to gender. The paper also further investigates the discourse of ‘gender-awareness training’, which I argue has been established as a ‘tool’ in the military field, but not as a critical concept. This tool seeks to produce understanding (knowledge, i.e. what is produced as truth) of gender, violence and security and to regulate the agents’ (i.e. male peacekeepers’) behaviours. These findings are important as they add to the literature which demonstrates how gender is de-politicised while sex is politicised and how women are excluded from both the realm of peace (security) and the realm of war (violence). It reinforces the idea that discourse is repeated and that for the UN to (re-)think gender in meaningful and creative ways, it becomes necessary to deconstruct the way power structures are shared.</p>

Practical Guidebook on Data Disaggregation for the Sustainable Development Goals

The “leave no one behind” principle espoused by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development requires measures of progress for different segments of the population. This entails detailed disaggregated data to identify subgroups that might be falling behind, to ensure progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Asian Development Bank and the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs developed this practical guidebook with tools to collect, compile, analyze, and disseminate disaggregated data. It also provides materials on issues and experiences of countries regarding data disaggregation for the SDGs. This guidebook is for statisticians and analysts from planning and sector ministries involved in the production, analysis, and communication of disaggregated data.

Anatomy of a Misfit: International Migration Statistics

Migration is one of the key aspects of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To understand global migration patterns, develop scenarios, design effective policies, focus on the population’s needs, and identify how these needs change over time, we need accurate, reliable and timely data. The gaps in international migration data have persisted since international organizations collect data. To improve the data gaps, there is a need to conceptualize the types of gaps and pinpoint the gaps within the international data systems. To that end, the ultimate objective of this paper is twofold, (i) to review and categorize the gaps in the literature and (ii) assess the statistical data sources, i.e., United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs (UN DESA), Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), International Organization for Migration (IOM), Eurostat, and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Our results demonstrate that the gaps could be categorized under (1) definitions and measures, (2) drivers or reasons behind migration, (3) geographic coverage, (4) gaps in demographic characteristics and (5) the time lag in the availability of data. The reviewed sources suffer from the gaps, which are not mutually exclusive (they are interlinked): the quality and availability of both migration flows and stocks data vary across regions and countries, and migration statistics highly rely on immigrants’ arrival.

Measuring E-Government Development: The Haves and the Have-nots

Since 2003, the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) continued to measure the e-government development across the world using a range of indices. The UNDESA produces a biannual report that ranks UN member states according to their most recent e-government development indices. These reports are widely used by e-government officials to benchmark their country’s performance. The aim of this paper is to investigate whether there has been a significant change in the rankings of the 191 countries that participated in both the 2005 and 2016 surveys using quantitative research methods.

Sexual Barter and Jewish Women’s Efforts to Save their Lives: Accounts from the Righteous Among the Nations Archives*

Using the files from the Righteous Among the Nations Department at Yad Vashem, this article explores how Jewish women in German-occupied Eastern Europe used sexual barter with Gentile men, both non-Germans and Germans, to try to survive. It proposes that sexual barter be recognized as an expression of agency. Yet sexual barter has been stigmatized and corresponding testimonies largely excluded from the archives. Indications that sexual barter had been a motivation for saving Jews were not included in submissions for the award of the status of Righteous because the criteria for that honour require that nothing can have been received in return for saving a Jew. This essay seeks to problematize this rule, which misunderstands what it was like to live in hiding for both the rescued and the rescuers.

Electronic Participation in a Comparative Perspective

Electronic participation can play a crucial role in building broader public involvement in decision-making and public policy to bring about more inclusive societies. Prior empirical analyses have neglected the fact that political institutions are not only affecting the expansion of digital government, but also often interact with more structural conditions to constrain or incentivize the adoption and expansion of e-participation. This research analyses the role of institutional factors in encouraging or constraining e-participation across countries. Fractional regression models are employed to analyze panel data (2008-2018) from the United Nations Member States scores in the E-Participation Index (EPI) developed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA). The results indicate that the quality of democratic institutions, freedom of the press, and government effectiveness are all relevant predictors of a higher performance in e-participation. Policy implications are drawn in line with the 2030 UN Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.