Strengthening Civil Society - Publications

Publications Relevant to Other Peace and Security Issues

2009

Inclusive Security: A Curriculum for Women Waging Peace (available for purchase)
Publication Date: January 2009
Authors: Miki Jacevic, Tobie Whitman, Allison Shean
Abstract: This unique tool draws on more than a decade of original research and training by The Institute for Inclusive Security and accomplished women peace builders from areas including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Colombia, Haiti, Iraq, Israel & Palestine, Northern Ireland, Rwanda, and Sudan.  Eight modules contain training plans, activity guides, PowerPoint presentations with lecture notes, videos, and role-playing exercises that simulate real-world peace processes. It is designed for experienced trainers and is structured to foster strong coalitions, to enhance problem-solving abilities, to bolster confidence, and, most significantly, to result in a concrete agenda for advancing women’s participation in peace and security. (Bound curriculum modules, appendices, lecture notes, role-play cards, multimedia on DVD)  

2008

Fostering Citizen Participation in the Development of Legislation
Publication Date: 2008
Authors: Jessica Gomez and Carla Koppell
Abstract: Participatory processes are critical to improving governance in post-conflict countries. Involving the public in creating legislation increases a government’s legitimacy and the likelihood that nascent democracies remain stable and continue to develop. Yet post-conflict societies, especially those unaccustomed to democracy, require extra support to open legislative and other policymaking processes. Part of a series that builds on a three-year field program on the role of women in Rwanda, this policy brief provides policymakers, donors, and program planners with strategies for the consolidation of democracy in post-conflict societies. (2 pages) (available in French)

2007

Inclusive Security, Sustainable Peace: A Toolkit for Advocacy and Action
Publication Date: November 2004, updated December 2007
Authors: Sanam Naraghi Anderlini, Nicola Johnston, Judy El-Bushra, Camille Pampell Conaway, Lisa Kays, Jolynn Shoemaker, Elizabeth Powley, Kelly Fish, Ancil Adrian-Paul, Gillian Lobo, Guillermo Suarez Sebastian, Mebrak Tareke
Abstract: The Toolkit is a resource for women peace builders and practitioners to effectively promote peace and security. Inclusive Security and International Alert collaborated to produce the Toolkit, published in November 2004, which outlines the components of peace building from conflict prevention to post-conflict reconstruction, highlights the role that women play in each phase, and is directed to women peace builders and the policy community. The toolkit was updated in December 2007. (327 pages including endnotes and appendices) (selected portions available in Arabic, French, Pashto, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish)

2006

Women’s Rights and Democracy: Peaceful Transformation in Iran
Publication Date: May 2006
Abstract: Women in Iran are the driving force behind the country’s reform, as they establish a basis for transformation to democracy in spite of repression and discrimination. Women in government promote women’s rights by allocating funds for women’s empowerment, by working with civil society groups, and by organizing workshops and educational programs to spread awareness of these issues. Iranian women also turn to NGOs who help advance their common cause. Although many newspapers and magazines promoting women’s rights have been shut down, journalists and activists are defying this government censorship, turning to the Internet to disseminate reformist ideas. This publication documents the role of women in gradual, nonviolent societal transformation in Iran. (19 pages plus endnotes)

2005

Naga Women Making a Difference: Peace Building in Northeastern India
Publication Date: January 2005
Author: Rita Manchanda
Abstract: The end of fighting between the National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN) and the Indian government exposed divisions within the NSCN and among Naga factions. Although it seemed that the ceasefire could not be sustained, Naga women began taking advantage of their position as respected mothers, stepping in to stop inter-factional violence. The Naga Mothers’ Association (NMA) has even established a Peace Team that has held advocacy meetings with Indian government officials and military officers. This publication chronicles the innovative approaches of Naga women who mediate among armed actors and mobilize for peace and reconciliation across conflict divides. This report documents the activities of Naga women to sustain the ceasefire, strengthen the formal peace process, and encourage the pursuit of long-term stability in northeastern India. (27 pages plus endnotes) (executive summary available)

Moving Beyond Silence: Women Waging Peace
Publication Date: 2005
Author: Swanee Hunt
Around the globe, women play a vital but often unrecognized role in averting violence and resolving conflict. With expertise in grassroots activism, political leadership, investigative journalism, human rights law, military reform, formal and information negotiations, transitional justice, and post-conflict reconstruction, these women bring new approaches to the security sphere process. Sustainable peace, and therefore international security, depends on such innovations. But scholarship regarding the work of women peace builders is scarce and women’s work in the field of security is largely unrecognized at the institutional and public policy levels. This chapter of Listening to the Silences: Women and War lays out the case for women’s inclusion in peace building, examples of women’s peace efforts around the world, as well as challenges and successes in connecting such women to policymakers to create a new model of ‘inclusive security.’ (21 pages)

2004

In the Midst of War: Women's Contributions to Peace in Colombia
Publication Date: April 2004
Author: Catalina Rojas
Abstract: Women have been victims and actors in Colombia’s cycles of violence and peace. In talks organized by President Andrés Pastrana in 1999, women represented both the government and FARC, the major guerrilla group. In 2000, 600 women participated in a women’s public forum that pressed FARC and government leaders to consider women’s concerns. In 2002, women’s groups continued to work towards peace after talks fell apart, reaching a consensus on the issues affecting Colombian women. In spite of the dangers women face as a result of being recognized as political leaders, they remain at the forefront of local efforts for peace. This publication assesses the importance of a gender perspective in peace negotiations and documents the critical work of women at the local, regional, and national levels to mitigate the effects of continued violence on their communities, mobilize for renewed dialogues, and prepare for the next cycle of peace in Colombia. (32 pages plus endnotes and appendices) (executive summary available)

2001
Women Waging Peace: Inclusive Security (Foreign Policy)
Publication Date: May/June 2001
Authors: Swanee Hunt and Cristina Posa
This article lays out an early vision of ‘inclusive security’ and points to the activities of women in conflict regions including Bosnia, Chechnya, Chile, India, Indonesia, Japan, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, and Sudan, as they worked through various mechanisms to promote peace. (10 pages)

1997
Women's Vital Voices: The Costs of Exclusion in Eastern Europe (Foreign Affairs)
Publication Date: July/August 1997
Author: Swanee Hunt
This publication argues that the dramatically low status of women in post-communist Europe is an issue that goes beyond the well-being of women per se to the fostering of economic development and democracy. American interests, it contends, require that the United States help the region’s women carve out their rightful place in the mainstream of society. (7 pages)

Publications Relevant to Other Peace and Security Issues