Melissa Johnston, a peace and conflict studies lecturer at the University of Queensland and author of "Building Peace, Rebuilding Patriarchy," discusses the shortcomings of gender interventions in Timor-Leste. She highlights how these initiatives, meant to empower women, often reinforce existing class and gender hierarchies. Johnston critiques the effectiveness of gender-responsive budgeting and microfinance, revealing how they may perpetuate patriarchal structures instead of fostering true equality. Her insights challenge conventional peacebuilding strategies and advocate for a deeper understanding of local dynamics.
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insights INSIGHT
Mixed Outcomes of Gender Interventions
Gender interventions in peacebuilding aim to improve women's empowerment and create stable societies.
However, these interventions often yield mixed results, failing to fully address gender inequalities.
insights INSIGHT
Focus on Specific Interventions
Dr. Johnston analyzes gender-responsive budgeting, domestic violence law, and microfinance initiatives in Timor-Leste.
These interventions have mixed results, often reinscribing existing class and gender hierarchies.
insights INSIGHT
Elite Power and Gender
Timor-Leste's political elite's power influences ideas about gender roles, legitimate violence, and class boundaries.
These power structures have historical roots, including periods of slavery, colonialism, and occupation.
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Building Peace, Rebuilding Patriarchy, The Failure of Gender Interventions in Timor-Leste
Building Peace, Rebuilding Patriarchy, The Failure of Gender Interventions in Timor-Leste
The Failure of Gender Interventions in Timor-Leste
Melissa Johnston
Melissa Johnston's "Building Peace, Rebuilding Patriarchy" examines the complex interplay of gender, class, and power in post-conflict Timor-Leste. The book analyzes the impact of various gender interventions, revealing how well-intentioned initiatives can inadvertently reinforce existing inequalities. Johnston uses a feminist political economy framework to understand the uneven outcomes of these interventions, highlighting the role of kinship structures and elite consolidation. The study challenges conventional approaches to peacebuilding, emphasizing the need for a deeper understanding of local contexts and power dynamics. Ultimately, the book offers critical insights into the limitations of top-down approaches and the importance of addressing structural inequalities for lasting peace.
Three Centuries of Conflict in Timor-Leste
Three Centuries of Conflict in Timor-Leste
Douglas Cammon
Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique
Securing Peace in Angola and Mozambique
Miranda Melcher
Over the two decades since the adoption of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security, peacebuilding interventions around the globe have increasingly incorporated gender perspectives. These initiatives have used both development programs and gender mainstreaming to advance women's empowerment, with the aim of making peacebuilding more effective as well as building more stable societies and efficient economies. This goal has been manifested in a wide range of programs and projects-or "gender interventions"—including economic empowerment measures, gender quotas, gender-responsive budgeting, and legal reforms. Yet, the results have been uneven, provoking a sizable debate among scholars and practitioners seeking to explain the shortcomings and improve the outcomes.
In Building Peace, Rebuilding Patriarchy: The Failure of Gender Interventions in Timor-Leste (Oxford University Press, 2023), Dr. Melissa Johnston explains why gender interventions often fail to help those who most need them, using the case of Timor-Leste, a country subjected to high levels of peacebuilding and gender interventions between 1999 and 2017. Looking at three types of gender interventions—gender-responsive budgeting, the law against domestic violence, and microfinance initiatives—Dr. Johnston argues that these reforms have produced mixed results because they reinscribe entrenched class and gender hierarchies in their implementation.
This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars.
New Books in Human Rights