Gender and Political Violence in Peace and Conflict Research

The chapter presents an overview of what the study of gender and political violence has contributed to mainstream peace and conflict research and exemplifies what we have learned about gender and the continuum of violence in the context of armed conflict. To that end, the chapter begins by discussing three challenges on concepts, operationalization, and access to information that initially affected this process, including the importance of the exchange with more explicitly feminist approaches for scholarly progress. The chapter then outlines examples of how considering gender and political violence has contributed to research on three conflict phases: 1) pre-conflict factors affecting the risk of war, 2) conflict dynamics, and 3) conflict resolution. Finally, the chapter concludes with reflections on the path for future research