Beyond ”Gender and Stir” : Reflections on gender and SSR in the aftermath of African conflicts

As a policy field largely characterised by handbooks and manuals, gender and Security Sector Reform (SSR) has been insufficiently studied and analysed. Analytical discussion of what gendering SSRmeans is quite rare, as is the study of the already gendered nature of the security institutions that are the subject of intervention. This policy dialogue unpacks aspects of the discourses and practices regarding gender and SSR. It highlights limitations and problems both in the conceptualisation of gender and its incorporation into practical SSR work. The publication also demonstrates how researchers and policymakers often have divergent views of what gendering SSR means. Finally, it calls for closer and more constructive dialogue between researchers and practitioners, a dialogue which acknowledges the conditions and constraints in these two spheres of work.Beyond ‘Gender and Stir’ / Maria Eriksson Baaz and Mats Utas -- Research on Gender and SSR in Africa / Cheryl Hendricks -- Women’s Participation in UN Peace Operations / Kathleen Jennings Foregrounding the In/Visibility of Military and Militarised Masculinities / Paul Higate -- Beyond Militarised Masculinity / Maria Eriksson Baaz and Maria Stern -- Perspectives from Both Sides of the Thin Blue Line / Jennifer Erin Salahub -- Towards a Gender-sensitive Police and Army / Ramadan Fabrice -- Young Women in African Wars / Chris Coulter, Mariam Persson and Mats Utas