Legislating Peace

Previous research demonstrates that women's participation in peace processes impacts the adoption of gendered peace provisions but leaves questions about whether women can also shape their implementation. This Element argues that women political representatives shape the implementation of gender provisions in peace agreements. In particular, it considers the role of women elected to rebel parties and ex-rebel women representatives. It tests the relationship between women's political representation and the implementation of gender peace provisions using a novel dataset focusing on the implementation of agreements signed in Africa conflicts between 1990 and 2024. The authors supplement their statistical analyses with case evidence from Angola, Rwanda, and Colombia. They find that women's parliamentary representation, especially that of former rebels in rebel parties, has a positive effect on compliance with gender provisions. These findings contribute to the understanding of women's post-war political influence, the implementation of gendered peace provisions, and rebel party politics.