Description
This paper offers a critical feminist political economy analysis to understand the impact of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) on not only women’s politico-economic participation during conflict, but the very possibilities of a just peace. The paper explores the activities of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Ukraine during the War in Donbas and the 2022 Russian Invasion, critically analysing their programs and advice during active war. A critical feminist political economy framework is deployed to uncover the relationship between women’s stagnating participation in Ukraine and ongoing barriers to peace, with the policies and programmes of the IFIs. I argue that, despite evincing a concern towards gender equality, the IFIs have neglected to recognise the contributions of women to the informal and care economies in the reforms and socio-political development that they promote and enforce. Empirically, the paper closely investigates the World Bank and IMF’s restructuring programs in gas and agriculture during conflict in Ukraine, utilising the critical political economy framework to make broader conclusions on how international peacebuilding influences societal gendered dynamics, inequality, and the potentialities of peace.
