Leveraging Ties: Women’s Civil Society Organizations and Post-Conflict Rights

• In Event: The Role of Masculinity in Conflict, War, and Militarism

Abstract

How do networks of women’s civil society organizations influence women’s rights in
post-conflict institutions? In this paper, I examine how women who have been excluded from formal peace negotiation process make their demands for post-conflict society known. Using a networks approach, I argue that there are three components of a women’s civil society organization network that influence how this network conveys their demands to bargaining parties – size, density, and strength of ties between organizations. The bigger, more connected, and more effectively the actors collaborate, the more effectively the network is able to pressure bargaining combatants. I further argue that there must be a third party mediator involved who is receptive to the groups’ demands and plays the role of an information broker between the network and the negotiating parties. Using Nepal as a case study, I find evidence for my theory. The network of women’s civil society, along with the mediator Günther Baechler, was successful in getting gender considerations and women's rights included in both the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and the Interim Constitution that arose out of the initial agreement.

Author

• Carly Millerd, University of South Dakota