Evaluation of the UN peacekeeping operations in the context of gender approaches

This study evaluates the integration of female soldiers into the Peacekeeping Operations carried out under the umbrella of the United Nations, within the framework of feminist international relations theory. The resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security adopted by the United Nations Security Council in 2000, was a development of great importance for women who would take part in Peacekeeping Operations. In the process leading up to the resolution, besides the pressure from the feminist theory and the women's movement, the sexual violence cases seen in the Peacekeeping Operations, which came to the light during that time and created a profoundly bad image for the UN, had a great impact. Because the UN assumed that with the increase in the number of female soldiers, cases of sexual violence would decrease and women would make the missions more peaceful. For this reason, in this study, firstly, the hypothetical relationship established between women and peace was examined within the framework of feminist international relations theory. This study aimed to identify the societal roots of the problems that arise in the inclusion of female soldiers in Peacekeeping Operations. Afterwards, where the United Nations stood among IR theories was identified and the place of the United Nations' women's policies within feminist international relations and the parallels it creates were revealed. As a result of the theoretical examination, the main parallelism was established with liberal international relations theory and liberal feminist international relations theory. However, when it comes to the Peacekeeping Operations, which form the basis of this research, and the reasons behind the inclusion of female soldiers in the operations, it has been detected that the feminist theoretical stance the United Nations is based on is cultural feminism It has been observed that the UNSC Resolution 1325 and the policies carried out within the operations by the organization, establish a direct relationship between women and peace. As a result of these, a categorical placement of Peacekeeping Operations within feminist international relations theory has been aimed to be made, based on the intellectual basis of the deployment of female soldiers. Keywords: United Nations, Peacekeeping Operations, Feminist International Relations, Liberal Feminism, Cultural Feminism