Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Peacebuilding Measures and the Transformation of Masculinities: Looking at Liberia and Uganda

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Gender Roles in Peace and Security

Abstract

Messerschmidt and Quest trace the potential for transformation of violence-centred masculinities in Liberia and Uganda as a result of post-conflict peacebuilding. First, they suggest a practice-theoretical framework that enables them to distinguish between violent and non-violent configurations of masculinity at different analytical levels. They then scrutinise disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration (DDR), security sector reforms (SSR) and transitional justice in Liberia and Uganda to assess their potential to transform violence-centred masculinities. In both cases, they see good reason to assume that peacebuilding measures have contributed to the transformation of masculinities, albeit more profoundly so in Liberia than in Uganda. By identifying relevant practices in all three programmes, they contribute to both the academic and practical knowledge concerning post-conflict peacebuilding measures.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 109.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 139.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    For a more detailed description of the framework, see Messerschmidt and Quest (2017).

  2. 2.

    We want to use the term violence-centred masculinities as an umbrella term which encompasses hypermasculinity, military masculinity and militarised masculinity.

  3. 3.

    By this, we do not imply that these countries exhibit high degrees of gender equality. Our observation only concerns masculinities related to high-intensity, organised violence.

  4. 4.

    On militarised livelihoods, see Lautze (2008).

References

  • Allen, T. (2005). War and justice in Northern Uganda: An assessment of the international criminal court’s intervention. London: Crisis States Research Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amnesty International. (2008). Liberia: A flawed process discriminates against women and girls. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://www.refworld.org/docid/4847a4851a.html

  • Anderson, J. (2009). Gender, local justice, and ownership: Confronting masculinities and femininities in Northern Uganda. Peace Research: The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies, 41, 59–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aning, K., & Jaye, T. (2011). Liberia: A briefing paper on the TRC report. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://www.operationspaix.net/DATA/DOCUMENT/6765~v~Liberia__A_Briefing_Paper_On_The_Truth_and_Reconciliation_Commission_Report.pdf

  • Ansorge, J. T., & Antwi-Ansorge, N. A. (2011). Monopoly, legitimacy, force: DDR-SSR Liberia. In M. A. Civic & M. Miklaucic (Eds.), Monopoly of force: The nexus of DDR and SSR (pp. 265–284). Washington, DC: National Defense University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Apio, E. (2007). Uganda’s forgotten children of war. In C. Carpenter (Ed.), Born of war: Protecting children of sexual violence survivors in conflict zones (pp. 94–109). Bloomfield: Kumarian Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baaz, M. E., & Stern, M. (2009). Why do soldiers rape? Masculinity, violence, and sexuality in the armed forces in the Congo (DRC). International Studies Quarterly, 53, 495–518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baines, E. (2007). The haunting of Alice: Local approaches to justice and reconciliation in Northern Uganda. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 1, 91–114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baines, E. (2011). Gender, responsibility, and the grey zone: Considerations for transitional justice. Journal of Human Rights, 10, 477–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baines, E., Harris, N., & McCleery, K. (2010). Death is painful so it is better to be holding a gun: The socio-ecologically situated dis/rearmament decisions of formerly abducted persons in Northern Uganda. Conflict Security & Development, 10, 625–645.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, B. (2007). How civil war altered policing in Sierra Leone and Uganda. Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 45, 367–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker, B. (2011). Justice for survivors of sexual violence in Kitgum, Uganda. Journal of Contemporary African Studies, 29, 245–262.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bangura, I., & Specht, I. (2012). Work not war: Youth transformation in Liberia and Sierra Leone. In E. Drew & A. Ramsbotham (Eds.), Consolidating peace. Liberia and Sierra Leone. London: Conciliation Resources.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, F. J. (1996). The organizational construction of hegemonic masculinity: The case of the US navy. Gender, Work and Organization, 3, 129–142.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Basini, H. S. A. (2013). Gender mainstreaming unraveled: The case of DDRR in Liberia. International Interactions, 39, 535–557.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bjarnegård, E., & Melander, E. (2011). Disentangling gender, peace and democratization: The negative effects of militarized masculinity. Journal of Gender Studies, 20, 139–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bøås, M., & Bjørkhaug, I. (2010). DDRed in Liberia: Youth remarginalisation or reintegration? Brighton: MICROCON.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bøås, M., & Stig, K. (2010). Security sector reform in Liberia: An uneven partnership without local ownership. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 4, 285–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Böge, V., & Fischer, M. (2005). Strategien der Friedensförderung: Die Geschlechterdimension in der Bearbeitung innerstaatlicher Gewaltkonflikte. In J. A. Davy, K. Hagemann, & U. Kätzel (Eds.), Frieden, Gewalt, Geschlecht: Friedens- und Konfliktforschung als Geschlechterforschung (pp. 318–343). Essen: Klartext.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borzello, A. (2007). The challenge of DDR in Northern Uganda: The Lord’s Resistance Army. Conflict, Security and Development, 7, 387–415.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Butler, J. (2002). Performative Akte und Geschlechterkonstitution: Phänomenologie und feministische Theorie. In U. Wirth (Ed.), Performanz: Zwischen Sprachphilosophie und Kulturwissenschaft (pp. 301–320). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, P. (2014). Bringing them all back home: The challenges of DDR and transitional justice in contexts of displacement in Rwanda and Uganda. Journal of Refugee Studies, 27, 234–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cockburn, C. (2001). The gendered dynamics of armed conflict and political violence. In C. O. N. Moser & F. C. Clark (Eds.), Victims, perpetrators or actors? Gender, armed conflict and political violence (pp. 13–29). New York: Zed Book.

    Google Scholar 

  • Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. (2006). The police, the people, the politics: Police accountability in Uganda. Retrieved May 26, 2017, from http://www.humanrightsinitiative.org/publications/police/uganda_country_report_2006.pdf

  • Connell, R., & Messerschmidt, J. (2005). Hegemonic masculinity: Rethinking the concept. Gender and Society, 19, 829–859.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Debusscher, P., & Martín de Almagro, M. (2016). Post-conflict women’s movements in turmoil: The challenges of success in Liberia in the 2005-aftermath. Journal of Modern African Studies, 54, 293–316.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dittmer, C. (2015). Gender Trouble in der Bundeswehr: Eine Studie zu Identitätskonstruktionen und Geschlechterordnungen unter besonderer Berücksichtigung von Auslandseinsätzen. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dolan, C. (2002). Collapsing masculinities and weak states—A case study of Northern Uganda. In F. Cleaver (Ed.), Masculinities matter! Men, gender, and development (pp. 57–83). London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncanson, C. (2009). Forces for good? Narratives of military masculinity in peacekeeping operations. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 11, 63–80.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elshtain, B. J. (1982). On beautiful souls, just warriors and feminist consciousness. Women’s Studies International Forum, 5, 341–348.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Espeland, R. H., & Petersen, S. (2010). The Ugandan army and its war in the north. Forum for Development Studies, 37, 193–215.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Esuruku, R. S. (2011). Beyond masculinity: Gender, conflict and post-conflict reconstruction in Northern Uganda. Journal of Science & Sustainable Development, 4, 25–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Finnström, S. (2010). Reconciliation grown bitter? War, retribution, and ritual action in Northern Uganda. In R. Shaw & L. W. Waldorf (Eds.), Localizing transitional justice: Interventions and priorities after mass violence (pp. 135–156). Stanford, DC: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, P. J., Barker, G., McCleary-Sills, J., & Morton, M. (2013). Engaging men and boys in advancing women’s agency: Where we stand and new directions. Washington, DC: World Bank.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaanderse, M., & Valasek, K. (Eds.). (2011). The security sector and gender in West Africa: A survey of police, defence, justice and penal services in ECOWAS states. Geneva: Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF).

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A., & Pierson, C. (1998). Conversations with Anthony Giddens: Making sense of modernity. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, J. S. (2003). War and gender. How gender shapes the war system and vice versa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Government of Uganda. (2000). Amnesty act. Retrieved December 14, 2018, from https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/applic/ihl/ihl-nat.nsf/0/7d2430f8f3cc16b6c125767e00493668/$file/ugandan+amnesty+act+2000.pdf

  • Government of Uganda. (2004). White paper on defence transformation. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/155172/uganda2004.pdf

  • Government of Uganda. (2007). Recovery and development plan for Northern Uganda. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Uganda_PRDP-2007.pdf

  • Government of Uganda. (2010). International criminal court act. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://ulii.org/system/files/legislation/act/2010/11/International%20Criminal%20Court%20Act%2C%202010.pdf

  • Griffiths, C. (2011). Mapping study on gender and security sector reform actors and activities in Liberia. Geneva: DCAF.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haque, M. M. (2013). Hope for gender equality? A pattern of post-conflict transition in masculinity. Gender, Technology and Development, 17, 55–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harders, C. (2011). Gender relations, violence and conflict transformation. In M. Fischer, B. Austin, & H. J. Giessmann (Eds.), Advancing conflict transformation. The Berghof handbook (pp. 131–155). Leverkusen: Barbara Budrich.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haugbolle, S. (2012). The (little) militia man: Memory and militarized masculinity in Lebanon. Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies, 8, 115–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hegre, H., Østby, G., & Raleigh, C. (2009). Poverty and civil war events. A disaggregated study of Liberia. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 53, 598–623.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hendrickson, D. (2007). The Uganda defence review. Learning from experience. London: Kings College.

    Google Scholar 

  • Human Rights Watch. (2016). Questions and answers on the LRA commander Dominic Ongwen and the ICC. Retrieved December 15, 2018, from https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/12/05/questions-and-answers-lra-commander-dominic-ongwen-and-icc

  • Hutchinson, S. E., & Jok, J. M. (2002). Gendered violence and the militarisation of ethnicity. A case study from South Sudan. In R. P. Werbner (Ed.), Postcolonial subjectivities in Africa (pp. 84–109). London: Zed Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • ICG. (2009). Liberia: Uneven progress in security sector reform. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/148-liberia-uneven-progress-in-security-sector-reform.pdf

  • ICG. (2010). LRA: A regional strategy beyond killing Kony (Africa Report No. 157). Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://d2071andvip0wj.cloudfront.net/157-lra-a-regional-strategy-beyond-killing-kony.pdf

  • ICG. (2011). The Lord’s Resistance Army: End game? (Africa Report No. 182). Retrieved December 11, 2018, from http://www.operationspaix.net/DATA/DOCUMENT/6344~v~The_Lord_s_Resistance_Army__End_Game_pdf

  • Irin News. (2012). Human rights lack of funding stalls ex-combatants’ reintegration. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from http://www.irinnews.org/report/95672/uganda-lack-funding-stalls-ex-combatants-reintegration

  • Jones, A. (2006). Straight as a rule. Heteronormativity, gendercide, and the noncombatant male. Men and Masculinities, 8, 451–469.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kagoro, J. (2013). The military ethos in the politics of post-1986 Uganda. Social Sciences Directory, 2, 31–46.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kagoro, J. (2016). Competitive authoritarianism in Uganda: The not so hidden hand of the military. Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft, 10, 155–172.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahlert, H. (2009). Geschlecht als Struktur- und Prozesskategorie – Eine Re-Lektüre von Giddens‘ Strukturierungstheorie. In B. Aulenbacher et al. (Eds.), FrauenMännerGeschlechterforschung: State of the art (pp. 206–216). Münster: Westfälisches Dampfboot.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keats, P. A. (2010). Soldiers working internationally: Impacts of masculinity, military culture, and operational stress on cross-cultural adaptation. International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling, 32, 290–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lautze, S. (2008). Livelihood systems of enlisted Ugandan army soldiers: Honour and reform of the UPDF. Small Wars and Insurgencies, 19, 635–653.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leatherman, J. (2011). Sexual violence and armed conflict. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Liberia TRC. (2009). Final report. Liberia TRC, ‘Final Report’. Retrieved May 29, 2017, from http://trcofliberia.org/reports/final-report

  • Liberian National Transitional Legislative Assembly. (2005). Liberia: An act to establish the truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) of Liberia 2005. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://www.refworld.org/docid/473c6b3d2.html

  • Lubaale, E. C. (2017). Military courts and prosecution of offences by national defense forces in the dawn of the complementarity regime: The case of Uganda. Criminal Law Forum, 28, 709–747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maina, G. (2011). The complexity of applying UN resolution 1325 in post conflict reintegration processes: The case of Northern Uganda. Durban: ACCORD.

    Google Scholar 

  • Malan, M. (2008). Security sector reform in Liberia: Mixed results from humble beginnings. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a478500.pdf

  • Maxwell, C. (2009). Moving beyond rape as ‘weapon of war’: An exploration of militarized masculinity and its consequences. Canadian Women Studies, 28, 108–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • McFate, S. (2008). Outsourcing the making of militaries: Dyncorp international as sovereign agent. Review of African Political Economy, 35, 645–654.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McMullin, J. R. (2013). Ex-combatants and the post-conflict state: Challenges of reintegration. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Messerschmidt, M., & Quest, H. (2017). Männlichkeiten im Konflikt – Zum theoretischen Verhältnis von militarisierter Männlichkeit, militärischer Männlichkeit und Hypermaskulinität. Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, 6, 259–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morton, M. L. S. I. (2014). Bring me men integrity: Religious re-buttressing of armed masculinity at the United States air force academy. Religious Studies and Theology, 33, 193–208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muhumuza, R. (2017). Ugandan army calls off search for Joseph Kony, says Lords Resistance Army no longer a threat. The Independent. Retrieved December 13, 2018, from https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/ugandan-army-joseph-kony-lords-resistance-army-search-called-off-car-a7691291.html

  • Okello, M. C., & Hovil, L. (2007). Confronting the reality of gender-based violence in Northern Uganda. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 1, 433–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Onyango, E. O. (2012). Manhood on the margins: Failing to be a man in post-conflict Northern Uganda. Brighton: MICROCON.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peacock, D., & Barker, G. (2014). Working with men and boys to prevent gender-based violence: Principles, lessons learned, and ways forward. Men and Masculinities, 17, 578–599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Porter, A. (2013). ‘What is constructed can be transformed’: Masculinities in post-conflict societies in Africa. International Peacekeeping, 20, 486–506.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pugel, J. (2007). What the fighters say: A survey of ex-combatants in Liberia February–March 2006. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://www.operationspaix.net/DATA/DOCUMENT/904~v~What_the_Fighters_Say__A_Survey_of_Ex-combatants_in_Liberia.pdf

  • Raddatz, R. (2013). Tempering great expectations: Peacebuilding and transitional justice in Liberia. In C. L. Sriram, J. García-Godos, J. Herman, & O. Martin-Ortega (Eds.), Transitional justice and peacebuilding on the ground: Victims and ex-combatants (pp. 178–199). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reckwitz, A. (2002). Toward a theory of social practices. A development in culturalist theorizing. European Journal of Social Theory, 5, 243–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schomerus, M., & Allen, T. (2006). A hard homecoming: Lessons learned from the reception center process in Northern Uganda: An independent study. Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development and United Nations Children’s Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schroer-Hippel, M. (2011). Männlichkeit und zivilgesellschaftliche Friedensarbeit: Konsequenzen aus der Gender- und Konfliktforschung. Femina Politica, 20, 57–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sivakumaran, S. (2007). Sexual violence against men in armed conflict. European Journal of International Law, 18, 253–276.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Specht, I. (2013). Gender, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and violent masculinities. In Instituto de Defesa Nacional (Ed.), Gender violence in armed conflicts (pp. 61–90). Liboa: Instituto da Defesa Nacional.

    Google Scholar 

  • Streicher, R. (2011). Männer, Männlichkeit und Konflikt: Eine kritische Reflektion des Forschungsstandes und ein Plädoyer für konzeptionelle Öffnungen. Femina Politica, 20, 44–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tapscott, R. (2016). Preventing change and protecting the regime: Crime preventers, local livelihoods, and the 2016 Ugandan elections. London: Justice and Security Research Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tapscott, R. (2017). Local security and the (un)making of public authority in Gulu, Northern Uganda. African Affairs, 116, 39–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tayler-Smith, K., Zachariah, R., Hinderaker, S. G., Manzi, M., De Plecker, E., Van Wolvelaer, P., et al. (2012). Sexual violence in post-conflict Liberia: Survivors and their care. Tropical Medicine and International Health, 17, 1356–1360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theidon, K. (2009). Reconstructing masculinities: The disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of former combatants in Colombia. Human Rights Quarterly, 31, 1–34.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theobald, A. (2014). The role of women in making and building peace in Liberia: Gender sensitivity versus masculinity. Stuttgart: Ibidem Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNSC. (2005). Progress report of the secretary-general on ways to combat subregional and cross-border problems in West Africa. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/A741E29A87DE0C0485256FAA0059F582-unsc-westafrica-11feb.pdf

  • Vastapuu, L. (2017). Hope is not gone altogether. The roles and reintegration of young female war veterans in Liberia. Retrieved October 23, 2017, from https://hopeisnotgonealtogether.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/hope-is-not-gone-altogether.pdf

  • Weah, A. (2012). Hopes and uncertainties: Liberia’s journey to end impunity. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 6, 331–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whitley, B. E., Jr. (Ed.). (2001). Gender-role variables and attitudes toward homosexuality. Sex Roles, 45, 691–721.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitworth, S. (2004). Men, militarism, and UN peacekeeping: A gendered analysis. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner.

    Book  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Maike Messerschmidt & Hendrik Quest

Authors
  1. Maike Messerschmidt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Hendrik Quest
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maike Messerschmidt .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Political Science and Sociology, Jean Monnet Chair for European Studies and International Relations, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany

    Manuela Scheuermann  & Anja Zürn  & 

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Messerschmidt, M., Quest, H. (2020). Peacebuilding Measures and the Transformation of Masculinities: Looking at Liberia and Uganda. In: Scheuermann, M., Zürn, A. (eds) Gender Roles in Peace and Security. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21890-4_5

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation