Militaries, Gender and Peacekeeping: an Identity Perspective.

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between military identity, gender and peacekeeping. Drawn from a wider study on military peacekeeping identity, it considers how extant research, positioned within an interpretive narrative framework, can be used to examine the process through which women and men construct professional military identities. This perspective is largely underrepresented in military research, with previous studies confined to exploring the utility of identity - how it can be manufactured, regulated and aligned with military values. The paper stresses the need for research that emphasises the subjective practices and consequences of gendered identity work within military organisations.