The Rambo Effect: Militarized Masculinity and Peacekeeper Effectiveness

• In Event: Gender and Violence

Abstract

Peacekeepers aim to prevent conflict, civilian victimization, and promote peace. However, many peacekeepers are not trained in the skills and traits that are necessary to ensure peace. Instead, as soldiers and police officers, they are more likely to be trained in combat skills, weapons, and violence. Moreover, soldiers, police officers, and peacekeepers often tie their masculinity with their physical and military strength, a phenomenon referred to as militarized masculinity. Militarized masculinity is hypothesized to make security officers more prone to respond with violence, aggression, and escalation when confronted with a security threat. This paper explores how militarized masculinity affects peacekeepers' responses to various peacekeeping scenarios and to potentially violent security threats. Using data from a survey experiment in eight countries, this study examines how police officers and soldiers who are primed with militarized masculinity are more likely to respond to security threats with violent reactions and tactics. This study is the first to causally test whether militarized masculinity increases violent responses by actual state security agents to nonviolent protests, riots, nonviolent crime, domestic violence, and personal disputes. As a result, this study contributes to literature on peacekeeping, civil-military relations, policing, and conflict by demonstrating how institutional and individual norms regarding masculinity and gender equality impact the effectiveness of security institutions.

Authors

• Sabrina Karim, Cornell University

• Laura Huber, University of Mississippi