GENDERED PEACEBUILDING FRAMEWORKS: EVALUATING WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN NEGOTIATIONS, SECURITY SECTOR REFORMS, AND DURABILITY OF PEACE AGREEMENTS

Peacebuilding has increasingly shifted from state-centered approaches toward inclusive frameworks that recognize the influence of gender, representation, institutional reform, and social participation on post-conflict stability. Despite international commitments to the Women, Peace and Security agenda, women remain unevenly represented in formal negotiations and post-conflict security institutions, raising important questions about whether meaningful participation contributes to more durable peace. This study develops a gendered peacebuilding framework for evaluating the relationship between women’s participation in peace negotiations, security sector reforms, and the durability of peace agreements. It distinguishes numerical representation from substantive participation by examining women’s involvement as negotiators, mediators, signatories, civil-society representatives, and contributors to implementation processes. The framework further evaluates whether gender-responsive security sector reforms strengthen institutional legitimacy, accountability, community security, and protection following conflict. Peace durability is assessed through agreement implementation, recurrence of armed conflict, institutional stability, and sustained post-conflict cooperation. By integrating negotiation processes, security governance, and long-term outcomes, the study provides a systematic basis for determining when and through which institutional mechanisms women’s participation contributes to sustainable peace.