WPS in Central Europe: in between Western Agenda and Russian Imperialism

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Krulisova, K. ORCID: 0000-0001-8065-188X and O'Sullivan, M., 2022. WPS in Central Europe: in between Western Agenda and Russian Imperialism. International Affairs. ISSN 0020-5850 (Forthcoming)

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Abstract

Although firmly established as a global norm, the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS) has been largely driven by the Global North attempting to solve insecurities in the Global South. Postcolonial feminist research shows that this Western-centrism and colonial legacies continue to dominate both WPS practices and knowledge production. This article interrogates WPS in Central Europe, a previously ignored ‘non-region’ that remains outside of the North-South divide. Combining post-colonial and decolonial approaches with Feminist Institutionalism, we interrogate what WPS becomes in the Czech, Polish and Slovakian contexts characterized by illiberal populist and anti-gender governance and politics. Building on interviews with key stakeholders, document analysis and our own encounters, we argue that the three countries understand WPS as a key to their Western belongingness and reliability as international partners. As a result, they replicate rather than challenge the ‘Western’ WPS thinking. The resulting NAPs are centred around women’s participation and security problems ‘out there’. This lack of localization enables them to stay immune to the anti-gender alliances but limits engagement of feminist civil society. Amidst the Russian imperial aggression, CE’s WPS agendas serve as mere paper tigers and are failing to address the multitude of domestic and regional gendered insecurities.

Item Type:

Journal article

Publication Title:

International Affairs

Creators:

Krulisova, K. and O'Sullivan, M.

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Date:

5 December 2022

ISSN:

0020-5850