Everyday Resistance and (Violent) Backlash in Peacebuilding Challenge the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda

The integration of gender perspectives into peacebuilding has been shown to enhance the durability of peace agreements and is institutionalized through the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. However, this norm cluster is increasingly subject to contestation, resistance and backlash. Resistance denotes practices that delay or obstruct gender equality norms, while backlash entails their erosion and reversal, often accompanied by physical and discursive violence against feminist peacebuilders. In this chapter, Perras/Scheyer/Wisotzki highlight forms of backlash and resistance against the WPS agenda at the international policy level and the effects these have on the national and local levels of peacebuilding. Drawing on reports and activist interviews, the chapter highlights that backlash and everyday resistance happen at all levels, in different and interconnected forms.