Backlash and Progress in a New Geopolitical Reality: Women, Peace and Security and the Ambiguous Role of the UN Security Council

This chapter explores the resilience of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda amid growing backlash in the UN Security Council. Opposing actors have increasingly challenged WPS norms, especially those related to sexual and reproductive health and rights, while broader pushback has targeted civil society participation. These tensions reflect deeper geopolitical divides and contestations as well as the targeting of the agenda as such. Despite setbacks, elected Council members successfully advanced WPS through strategic alliances and everyday diplomacy until the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza further weakened the Council functionality and legitimacy as a norm-generating body. Still, the chapter argues that maintaining the Council as a negotiation platform remains crucial for defending women’s rights and ensuring WPS resilience, even amid rising militarization and institutional fragility.