Gender Justice During Conflict, An examination of the UN and the EU's response to the Ukrainian Conflict from a feminist institutionalist and transitional justice perspective
Author
Christensen, Ane Cathrine Løgstrup
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2023
Submitted on
2023-05-30
Abstract
This thesis examines how the EU and the UN articulate their understanding of gender justice in their responses to the war in Ukraine. Adopting a social constructivist lens, it combines transitional justice theory and feminist institutionalism to explore how discursive responses can shape formal and informal institutions—including gender norms and practices—and potentially reproduce stereotypes. Methodologically, a content analysis of nine UN and EU responses that explicitly address gender was conducted, using theory-derived keywords to map statements onto transitional justice mechanisms. Three mechanisms predominated in the material: commissions of inquiry and truth-seeking, reparations, and (post-conflict) criminal justice, with an additional miscellaneous category. The findings indicate that both institutions largely frame gender justice as justice for victims of sexual violence, primarily women, aligning with the established Women, Peace and Security agenda since 2000. The thesis engages with feminist critiques of this approach—namely the conflation of ‘gender’ with ‘women’ and the prioritization of sexual violence without necessarily asking what women need—and juxtaposes them with the analysis. At the same time, it identifies attempts at nuance by actors and organizations within the UN and EU that could, over time, shift both formal and informal understandings of gender justice. The thesis concludes that these discursive articulations can reinforce stereotypes as well as support equality, and briefly outlines the project’s limitations and possible alternative approaches.
Specialet undersøger, hvordan EU og FN artikulerer deres forståelse af kønsretfærdighed i responsen på krigen i Ukraine. Med et socialkonstruktivistisk udgangspunkt kombineres transitionsretfærdighedsteori og feministisk institutionalisme for at belyse, hvordan formelle og uformelle institutioner – herunder kønsnormer og praksisser – kan påvirkes af institutionernes diskursive svar. Metodisk anvendes indholdsanalysen af ni UN- og EU-reaktioner, der eksplicit adresserer køn; teori-afledte nøgleord kortlagde udsagn i relation til transitionsretfærdighedens mekanismer. Tre mekanismer dominerede i materialet: undersøgelses- og sandhedskommissioner, reparationer og (post-konflikt) strafferet, suppleret af en øvrig kategori. Fundene viser, at begge institutioner i høj grad forstår kønsretfærdighed som retfærdighed for ofre for seksualiseret vold, primært kvinder, i tråd med den etablerede Kvinder, Fred og Sikkerhed-dagsorden siden 2000. Specialet diskuterer feministiske kritikpunkter af denne linje – at ‘køn’ ofte ligestilles med ‘kvinder’, og at seksuel vold prioriteres uden nødvendigvis at efterspørge, hvad kvinder faktisk har brug for – og sammenholder dem med materialets resultater. Samtidig identificeres forsøg på nuancering fra aktører og organisationer inden for FN og EU, som på sigt kan ændre både formelle og uformelle forståelser af kønsretfærdighed. Afslutningsvis peger specialet på, at sådanne diskursive forståelser kan forstærke stereotyper såvel som fremme ligestilling, og skitserer kort projektets begrænsninger og mulige alternative tilgange.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]