Description
Prior to the formal policy consultations between NATO and civil society on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in June 2014, NATO was a notable exception among international organisations in having no mechanisms in place to consult civil society in the policy making process. Moreover, civil society actors, in particular feminist organisations engaged with WPS, have long been wary of engagement with NATO. This is unsurprising given a number are pacifist organisations whose outlook runs directly counter to NATO’s militarism. This project draws on elite interviews with NATO and civil society practioners, as well as content analysis of key policy documents and speech acts, to interrogate the apparent sudden change and its implications for security. It will consider what accounts for this shift, why civil society actors have decided to engage and how (if at all) this experience has changed NATO-civil society mutual perceptions.
