Shattering glass: How elected members of the UN Security Council fight for women, peace and security

Not all states sitting in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) are the same. How these differences influence the promotion of women, peace and security (WPS) matters.

Yet, previous research treats the body as a unitary actor and does not differentiate between permanent (P5) and non-permanent elected (E10) states.

Or, it focuses on women´s participation, protection and  gender mainstreaming, not variation of state behavior inside the Council. This project asks under what conditions do non-permanent member states impact UNSC policy outcomes on WPS?

The purpose is to to build theoretical insight into the causal relationship between key dynamics – power within the UNSC; working processes of the Council; non-permanent state capacities; and politics and external WPS alliances and influences - and the degree to which the UNSC´s WPS work is meaningful in a time of global turbulence.

We collect unique empirics about the E10 terms of Ethiopia (2017-2018), Germany (2019-2020), Rwanda (2013-2014), South Africa (2019-2020) and Sweden (2017-2018). We will compare the strategies, capacities and levers used (or not) by these states.

We contribute to two development research literatures – UNSC studies and WPS  – and relate to global Sustainable Development Goal 16.

The project will deepen understanding of the UNSC as multifarious and draw out new knowledge about the Global South´s opportunities to make the Security Council more inclusive and responsive to women, as well as men.