Gendering Crisis Management : Examining the Role of Gender in the Report of The Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management

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Gendering Crisis Management

Examining the Role of Gender in the Report of

The Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management

Kaisa Kopsa

Peace and Conflict Studies Bachelor of Arts

12 Credits Spring 2021

Supervisor: Ane Kirkegaard

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to gain an understanding of how gender is discussed in the context of Finnish crisis management. By utilizing the report of the Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management as a single case study, the study seeks to examine if and how the report embodies elements of liberal feminism in its discussion on gender. Since this study is based upon liberal feminism, specific coding was applied to identify those parts of the report that discuss gender, with each coding category deriving from liberal feminist philosophy. The findings of this study suggest that the discussion on gender in the context of Finnish crisis management is strongly focused on women and especially, efforts to strengthen the presence of female experts in crisis management operations. By highlighting the need to strengthen equal gender distribution among experts employed to crisis management operations, the report embodies several liberal feminist values, such as achieving gender equality. However, as the report only discusses gender in terms of women and girls, it excludes both men and boys. Based on these findings, this study argues that the way the report embodies liberal feminist thinking is potentially problematic since its discussion on gender does not consider men and women to an equal extent.

Key words: crisis management, civilian crisis management, military crisis management, gender, women

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List of abbreviations

BCCCM Basic Course on Civilian Crisis Management CMC Finland Crisis Management Centre Finland

DPKO The UN Department for Peacekeeping Operations GBV Gender-Based Violence

ECOSOC United Nations Economic and Social Council ESDC European Security and Defence College

EU European Union

FINCENT The Finnish Defence Forces International Centre FINGO Finnish Development NGOs

IDP Internationally displaced person NAP National Action Plan

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NC GM The Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations NGO Non-governmental organization

PACS Peace and Conflict Studies PDT Pre-Deployment Training

SGBV Sexual and gender-based violence SPT Specialised Police Team

TCC Troop-contributing country

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UNSCR The United Nations Security Council Resolution

UNSCR 1325 The United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security

WPS Women, Peace and Security

List of figures

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1 Introduction

Conflict is gendered activity (Woroniuk, 2001:62). In other words, it affects men and women differently. Given the increasingly international scope of conflict worldwide, which includes actors from various sectors and countries (Kaldor, 2013:72), this paper contends that conflict studies must incorporate and understand how aspects of gender are addressed in both international and national policies. In approaching this topic through the lens of liberal feminism, this paper seeks to examine the role of gender in a recent report on Finnish foreign and security policy. In its report, the temporarily formed Parliamentary Committee discusses and proposes recommendations for Finland’s participation in international crisis management.

In regard to the ethical aspects of this study, the most central acknowledgement is my own position as a researcher. I am currently employed by CMC Finland, which is the Finnish national authority responsible for training and recruiting experts for civilian crisis management operations. The fact that I work closely with civilian crisis management might affect my understanding of which documents, for instance, are important for inclusion in this study, in order for the reader to understand the complex nexus of gender and crisis management. However, I have done my utmost to provide full objectivity in this research. I have strived to ensure that this research does not represent the views of CMC Finland or my own preconceptions of gender in relation to crisis management, and maintained focus solely on information from the study’s data.

1.1 Research Problem and Aim

The impact of war upon civilian populations has been increasingly observed by academic scholars. While research conducted on how war impacts people based on their gender was still relatively unexplored in the 20th_{century (Hyndman and} Giles, 2004:3f), the topic has gained more interest among scholars in recent years (Carpenter, 2016:1f). Therefore, the overarching aim of this study is to gain a better understanding of how gender issues are addressed in Finnish crisis management policy. As a single case study, this study investigates the subject from a liberal feminist perspective by examining a report called Effective crisis

management: Recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management on developing Finland’s crisis management (2021). Thus, to achieve

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How does the Parliamentary Committee’s report discuss gender and crisis management?

As this study’s theoretical framework is based upon liberal feminist theory, it will concentrate on two of the most central aspects of liberal feminist philosophy: female participation and representation. While recognising that there are many elements in liberal feminist ideology, the study solely considers participation and representation given that the Parliamentary Committee’s report focuses exclusively on these two dimensions. Therefore, to achieve its aim and answer its research question, this study examines its data using the following operational questions:

1) How does the Parliamentary Committee’s report discuss gender and

participation in the context of crisis management?

2) How does the Parliamentary Committee’s report discuss gender and

representation in the context of crisis management?

In regards to the research problem of this study, it is necessary to acknowledge that gendered effects of conflict have also previously been addressed in Finland’s foreign and security policy. In 2008, after the adoption of the national action plan (NAP) on implementing the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325), Finland initiated its efforts to engage with the NAP’s objectives by, for instance, increasing the number of women deployed to civilian crisis management operations (Savoranta & Pitkäjärvi, 2020:4). Given that Finland has been referred to as a forerunner in efforts to achieve equal gender distribution among experts employed to crisis management operations (Finnish Government, 2020), it is essential to evaluate the Parliamentary Committee’s most recent 2021 report for its stance concerning gender and conflict, in relation to gender and its impact on Finnish crisis management policy.

1.2 Relevance to Peace and Conflict Studies

Throughout much of the world, unarmed civilians are increasingly represented among the casualties of war. One of the features of contemporary conflicts is that they have blurred the distinction between battlefield and civilian-habited areas. Correspondingly, the destructive consequences of war have dramatically expanded beyond traditional battlefields, affecting the lives of un-armed civilians to a greater extent than before. This phenomenon is also partly due to the fact that the number of intra-state conflicts has increased (Bouta et. al, 2005:35; Kaldor, 2013). With the rising trend of conflict affecting non-combatant populations, gender has come to play a significant role in this rather new nexus of international conflict.

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While wars may vary greatly in impact and scale, they all feature gendered characters (Goldstein, 2004:7). Moreover, gender has a tendency to fuel violence in sites of militarised conflict (Hyndman and Giles, 2004:3f). The way in which gender and gender identities are negotiated in conflict often has an impact on both the security of men and women in non-combatant regions (Handrahan, 2004). Therefore, I argue that how issues of gender are addressed in relation to conflict, is essential not only to academia, but also successful governmental policy. Ultimately, it is national policy that guide countries’ actions as applied to international actions. The very issue of gender in conflict can be examined by looking into countries’ foreign and security policies, and exploring how they acknowledge issues of gender and conflict. As the role of gender in conflict becomes increasingly acknowledged, it is vital to investigate how the topic is discussed within the crisis management context. After all, the largest occupations in peacekeeping operations, for instance, include international militaries and military contingents, that have traditionally been the domain of males (Simić, 2010:192; Tickner, 1988:429).

1.3 Limitations

This study is limited in several ways. First of all, this study only focuses on one report, and therefore cannot provide a comprehensive discussion on Finland’s gender policy in crisis management. Moreover, there are several reports produced by the Finnish Government and Ministries, such as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Ministry of the Interior, that are somewhat linked to themes of gender in crisis management. In order to gain a more in-depth understanding of Finland’s approach to the theme of this study, one should familiarise oneself with an array of other government documents and policies, rather than just one report – not to mention the history of gender discussion in Finnish crisis management. However, this study does not seek to provide an exhaustive summary of Finland’s international crisis management policy but rather, has decided to concentrate on one central report specifically and how it discusses gender within the crisis management context.

Comparing the Parliamentary Committee’s report with similar documents produced by other countries could have provided valuable insight on how the topic of this research is discussed in other country contexts, for instance. However, lack of comparison in this study is justified for two reasons. First, this study does not seek to compare but rather explore the content of the Parliamentary Committee’s report using the lens of liberal feminism. Moreover, it is important to note that the Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management is unique for being the first of its kind. Similarly, the report conducted by the Parliamentary Committee is also unique, meaning that there are no similar governmental reports that precede it. Consequently, as the focus of this study is upon the exploration of gender and crisis management within the Finnish context, there were no suitable reports with which to compare the study’s data. The reason this study selected its

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data from the Parliamentary Committee’s report is that this report represents the latest document outlining Finnish crisis management policy. Therefore, further analysis of this report will provide the most accurate reflection and clearest insight on how gender is incorporated into Finnish crisis management policy.

Lastly, it is necessary to recognise that the data delimits itself. For instance, as there are 10 Women, Peace and Security (WPS) resolutions in total that have been adopted by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the Parliamentary Committee’s report only centres around one of them: UNSCR 1325. Therefore, the thematic framework of this study solely focuses upon UNSCR 1325 rather than other WPS resolutions discussing gender in conflict and crisis management. In fact, Finnish foreign and security policy as a whole is considerably focused on this very resolution and its implementation, as shown in the Finnish government’s own 1325 NAP, which is based on the same resolution. Finland has also built much of its governmental and non-governmental (NGO) work based on UNSCR 1325. As a result, in Finland there is an entire “1325 network”, comprised of NGOs, researchers, and experts who all work towards the implementation of the resolution’s goals. The work of Finland’s “1325 network” is governed and coordinated by UN Women Finland with the support of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (UN Women, 2021). Therefore, this study’s focus on UNSCR 1325 is justified given that Finnish foreign and security policy similarly centres upon this very resolution.

1.4 Thesis Outline

The study itself is organised into seven chapters. Following the first chapter, chapter two provides a brief overview on gender in peace and conflict research. The third chapter sheds light upon the conceptualization of crisis management in the Finnish political context. In more detail, the third chapter provides a brief overlook of international and governmental documents relevant to gender and crisis management. Chapter four presents case study design and the study’s methodology, content analysis, while briefly introducing the study’s data. The fifth chapter constitutes the theoretical framework of the study. The fifth chapter also sheds light upon the relevant concepts of this study, such as gender, gender equality, and gender mainstreaming. In the sixth chapter, the selected data is analysed through the two operational questions previously presented in the introduction of this study. The seventh and final chapter of the thesis concludes the study’s main findings and provides suggestions for future research.

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2 Gender in Peace and Conflict

Research: a Brief Overview

The aim of this chapter is to familiarise the reader with the thematic outline of the study. As crisis management operations are predominantly conducted in countries strongly affected by conflict or post-conflict circumstances, this chapter discusses gender, and how its role has been ascribed by researchers to the following themes: violence in conflict, conflict resolution, and crisis management. Keeping in mind both the study’s objective and its data, it is necessary to rationalise the role that gender is believed to have played in affecting conflict and crisis, as well as its role in the management and resolution of both conflict and crisis.

2.1 Gender and Violence in Conflict

Gender has become increasingly examined by Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) researchers in recent years. In fact, PACS scholars have highlighted that in order to formulate a comprehensive and thorough understanding of war and conflict, it is necessary to scrutinise the role of gender. As Sjöberg concludes, examining gender relations help “to understand both the nature of conflict and the nature of gender subordination” (Sjöberg, 2018:12). While both men and women can become targets of conflict-related violence, scholars have identified differences in the forms of violence that women and men experience (Olsson, 2007:25f). Furthermore, research has shown that security issues in warfare are always gendered (Woroniuk, 2001:62f). As Cockburn points out, ”war deepens already deep sexual divisions, emphasising the male as a perpetrator of violence, women as a victim” (Cockburn, 2012:23). In fact, according to Baaz and Stern, the international community has addressed conflict-related sexual violence as a critical global security issue (Baaz and Stern, 2013:1). Gender-Based (GBV) and Sexual Violence is defined as ”physical, sexual, and phychological violence against both men and women that occurs within the family and the community and is perpetrated or condoned by the state” (Bouta et al. 2005:33). In conflict settings, both men and women can experience GBV, such as rape. According to Baaz and Stern, one of the most concerning issues of conflict-related rape is that among many military staff it is considered as somehow normal and unavoidable consequense of wartime (Baaz and Stern, 2006:5f). Baaz and Stern point out, that according to one storyline “(male) soldier’s libido is understood as a formidable natural force, which ultimately demands sexual satisfaction” (Ibid., 6). According to this reasoning, the sexual urge of male soldiers, which in this case occurs as

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wartime rape, is a natural result of heterosexual desires of men (Ibid.). Also, sexual violence can be viewed as a strategy to achieve military goals (Ibid., 5). Baaz and Stern argue that normalisation of rape in war is problematic since it might reduce efforts to prevent its occurance (Ibid., 19).

With regards to gender-specific roles and GBV, research suggests that women are more prone to suffer from GBV in conflict than men. According to Bouta et al. (2005:33), this phenomenon is thought to be due to the predominant gender roles that tend to oppress women. Bouta et al. also stress that another reason why women are more vulnerable to GBV than men is the fact that in conflict settings, they are often unarmed (Ibid.). Jones (2006:458), on the other hand, stresses that only little attention has been given to the issue of male-on-male sexual violence in wartime. Moreover, Jones stresses that wartime sexual assaults against men and the act’s intended feminising effects are a wide-spread issue that requires more examination and recognition (Ibid.).

A further observation is that women suffer from various forms of violence in both conflict and post-conflict situations. In fact, researchers have found that in post-conflict situations, an increasing number of women and children suffer from domestic violence (Buvinic et al. 2012:15). As Bouta et al. (2005:33) emphasise, in comparison to men, women tend to have fewer possibilities for mobility in conflict situations. In fact, the vast majority of refugees and internationally displaced persons (IDP) that are displaced due to conflict are women and children (Buvinic et al., 2012:8).

Nonetheless, some scholars (e.g. Bouta et al. 2005; Carpenter 2005) acknowledge that gender-stereotypical assumptions of violence in conflict can be misleading. Whereas women tend to be considered as peaceful civilians, men tend to be treated as violent ”war-mongers”. These assumptions are problematic at least for two reasons. First, women cannot be essentialised due to the fact that they also commit acts of violence in war (Goldstein, 2004:10; Bouta et al. 2005:33). In other words, undertaking violent actions is not restricted to a person’s gender. Second, as stressed by Buvinic et al. (2012), only discussing the violence that women experience in conflict can shift the focus away from the fact that men too experience violence in conflict. In fact, men constitute the greatest number of fatalities caused by war (Buvinic et al., 2012:8). As Jones (2006) addresses, non-combatant men of ”battle-age”, meaning 15-55 years old, constitute the most vulnerable group in conflict and genocide situations (Jones, 2000:192). The reason for this, according to Jones, is that non-combatant males pose a threat to the conquering force. As these men usually have no means of self-defence, they can be repressed rather easily by the conquering force (Ibid.). Therefore, many scholars are calling for international agencies to reshape their thinking and to actively question their approach to gender and violence in conflict (Bouta et al. 2005:11; Carpenter 2005).

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2.2 Gender and Conflict Resolution

Many scholars have argued that women have a crucial role to play both in the prevention and resolution of conflicts (Väyrynen, 2004:137). True and Riveros-Morales (2019:25) conclude that involving women in peace processes is essential since ”equal participation is a right, women’s participation contributes to the prevention and resolution of conflicts while lack of this participation undermines it, and women as well as men play important roles in rebuilding the fabric of recovering societies.” In fact, ever since the adoption of the WPS agenda in 2000, peace agreements have increasingly referred to women’s rights and gender equality. However, as True and Riveros-Morales (2019:24) argue, these recommendations regarding enhancing gender equality have not been properly put into practice in peace building and conflict resolution, with regards to including women into the process.

As explained previously, conflicts are always gendered activities. Woroniuk (2001) for instance stresses, that there are strong gender differences in access to resources during conflicts, which also applies to power and decision-making processes. Woroniuk claims that there are differences in the ways through which men and women experience conflict. According to her, due to their gender, women and girls have been recognised as being in an especially vulnerable position during conflict and post-conflict situations. Therefore, some scholars emphasise that gender perspectives should be analysed and integrated in every peacebuilding initiative before decisions are taken (Ibid., 62f).

According to a study conducted on the level of violence that countries practice, states with a lower percentage of women in their parliament were also more prone to practice military violence in the settlement of disputes (Caprioli, 2000:62). True and Riveros-Morales (2019:23f) emphasise, that when it comes to peace agreements, studies have found that if women’s representation and participation are taken into account when negotiating agreements, there is a greater possibility that the post-conflict society will move towards gender equality. However, until only recent years, peace processes have almost entirely been handled by security providers, mainly comprised of men and armed groups (Ibid.).

Cahn and Ni Aolain (2010) have found, that in post-conflict societies, it is typical to emphasise the role of women as peacemakers. However, the very scholars highlight that there are problems underlying this perception. Associating women with a role only suited to post-conflict situations and peacemaking activities denies them other, more diverse roles in the conflict resolution landscape. In more detail, ”accepting and accommodating a more diverse range of roles for women both in war and post-war facilitates a greater conceptual and practical understanding of the lived intersectionalities of most women’s lives” (Cahn, Haynes & Ni Aolain, 2016:129). Altogether, limiting women to roles only associated with peacemaking activities in post-conflict situations might stand in the way of achieving true gender equality, whereby both men and women are

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allowed to own many varied, and most importantly, equal roles that are not limited by any circumstances.

2.3 Gender and Crisis Management

As Tickner (1988) acknowledges, there have been some claims that women are not as interested in entering the public policy sector as men. Moreover, some critics claim that women feel more comfortable working with tasks associated with domestic issues. This argument has been based on the assumption that due to women’s ’natural’ nurturing skills, they are more drawn to work within such fields as social welfare and childcare. However, this perception has been challenged in international peace movements, in which many reject the notion that women are not interested in issues of war and peace (Tickner, 1988:429).

According to Simić (2010), ever since the end of the Cold War, the UN, numerous women’s organisations, as well as peace and conflict scholars have appealed to troop-contributing countries (TCCs), and urged them to increase the number of women deployed for peacekeeping operations (Simić, 2010:188). However, the topic was not brought up to wider discussion until the 1990s (Väyrynen, 2004:125,133). The call for increasing the presence of women in crisis management operations truly intensified following the adoption of UNSCR 1325 in 2000. Integration of gender perspectives in peacekeeping operations is in fact underscored in internationally recognised agreements. As Väyrynen argues, ”integrating gender perspective into UN peace support operations relies on international humanitarian and human rights law” (Ibid., 126). Moreover, these laws provide not only the foundation but also standards for practising gender mainstreaming in many crisis operations. However, it is necessary to acknowledge that these laws and internationally recognised agreements only concern their signatory countries (Ibid.). In addition, there are legally binding conventions, such as the 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women, that urge signatory countries to take certain measures in order to include gender perspectives in their agendas. As Väyrynen suggests, conventions also serve as guidelines for crisis management operations, providing them a set of internationally recognised standards that can be utilised and put into practice (Ibid.).

Scholars, such as Simić (2010:188), argue that the presence of women peacekeepers in crisis management operations has the potential to encourage changes in male behaviour. Simić elaborates her argument by claiming that the presence of women has been shown to improve the discipline of males working in crisis management operations, especially in peacekeeping operations. However, Jennings (2008:30) argues that increasing the number of women in peacekeeping operations might not provoke the desired change in male behavior, as many female peacekeepers are not willing to report their misconducting male colleagues.

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As stressed previously, many of the victims of armed conflict are women. According to Anttila (2012:83), it is, therefore, essential that people working in crisis management operations are able to collaborate with local women both during and after conflict. Approaching the topic from a different point of view, Simić (2010:189) acknowledges that women working in crisis management operations can serve as role models to local women in the operation’s target area. In fact, proposals have been made that having women working in crisis management operations is crucial, given that women seem to be more suitable in tackling some highly sensitive issues than their male colleagues. For instance, some suggest that local women are more comfortable speaking to other females about matters such as rape and other forms of sexual violence than they would be with males (Ibid., 195). As a result of these observations, many actors in the field of international safety and security have set goals for increasing the number of women employed for crisis management positions. The United Nations, for instance, aims to reach a target of at least 15 per cent women’s representation in military contingents by the year 2028 (United Nations, 2021).

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3 Introducing the Conceptualization of

Crisis Management in the Finnish

Political Context

This chapter seeks to introduce the reader to the conceptualization of crisis management in the Finnish political context. The first three sections of the chapter provide a brief overview of key documents that are relevant in understanding Finland’s current policy on gender and crisis management. All in all, documents presented in this chapter are essential in understanding Finland’s current policy in regard to gender and crisis management. As crisis management can be given a range of meanings (Nyholm, 2021), the second section familiarises the reader with a definition of the concept used in this study and Finnish political context. After conceptualizing crisis management and providing a definition regarding the difference between military and civilian crisis management, this chapter briefly sheds light on how gender issues are currently addressed within Finnish crisis management policy.

3.1 The United Nations Security Council Resolution

1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325)

In total, the United Nations Security Council has adopted 10 resolutions on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). Altogether, WPS resolutions underscore the foundational principle of women’s participation and representation in activities related to conflict prevention and resolution. The United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325) on October 31st_{, 2000. The now 20-year-old resolution recognises how armed} conflict affects women and men in different ways. The resolution not only calls for the protection of women in conflict settings, but instead, demands their active

participation and representation in efforts to strengthen women’s role in

peacebuilding and conflict prevention activities (DCAF, 2019:3f; Hatakka, 2012:189; Pratt & Richter-Devroe, 2011:490).

The adoption of UNSCR 1325 was not the first time women’s participation in conflict-related decision making has been promoted on the international stage. However, it is considered as a historic milestone given that it was the first resolution that clearly recognised the gendered effects of conflict, as well as women’s experiences in conflict and post-conflict settings. The resolution also calls for women’s increased participation in conflict resolution and prevention

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(Cohn, 2008). In other words, whilst previous UN resolutions viewed women as victims of war, UNSCR 1325 highlighted the need for women’s active participation and representation in peace-building efforts (Pratt & Richter-Devroe, 2011:490).

UNSCR 1325 consists of four pillars: participation, prevention, protection, and resolution and recovery. The fourth pillar, especially, concentrates on crisis management by demanding that crisis management operations incorporate aspects of gender mainstreaming into their activities (Hatakka, 2012: 190f). On a more practical level, the resolution calls for stronger representation of women in crisis management operations (Simić, 2010:189).

The resolution has created new programmes and measures on international, governmental, and non-governmental levels by highlighting the linkage between social change and political transformation or, in other words, gender and conflict (Pratt & Richter-Devroe, 2011:490). However, the resolution has also received criticism. Some scholars, such as Cohn (2008), argue that the resolution’s applicability to ever-changing and divergent conflict settings requires more careful examination. In addition, several scholars urge for more critical engagement with UNSCR 1325 given its practical impacts on policy-related matters (Cohn 2008; Otto 2018:114; Tryggestad 2019).

3.2 Women, Peace and Security: Finland’s National

Action Plan 2018-2021

In 2004, acting United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan advised that all member countries should conduct their own 1325 national action plans (NAP). The reason behind this statement was the observed lack of implementation of the resolution among member countries. Furthermore, the purpose of NAPs is to ensure an effective implementation of UNSCR 1325 in member countries. As a result of Kofi Annan’s recommendation, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland published Finland’s first NAP in 2008, with a second, updated NAP that was launched in June 2012. The latest version of this plan was published on 12 March 2018, under the title Women, Peace and Security - Finland’s National

Action Plan 2018-2021 (Hatakka, 2012:188f; Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2018).

As highlighted in Finland’s National Action Plan 2018-2021, the promotion of the rights of women and girls is one of the cornerstones of its national human rights policy. Furthermore, Finland is strongly committed to full implementation of international treaties focusing on the rights of women and girls. To carry out its commitment, Finland works actively in the international framework with actors such as the European Union, the United Nations, and affiliated UN specialised agencies. As stated in Finland’s NAP, women and girls belonging to the most vulnerable groups in society have been placed at the forefront of Finland’s work in fostering the rights of women and girls (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2018).

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For example, these vulnerable groups may include women and girls living in the midst of conflict.

Within the international context, Finland’s 1325 NAP has received recognition for its practical way of approaching the goals of resolution 1325. For instance, the NAP includes a whole chapter on the implementation of UNSCR 1325 in crisis management operations (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2018). One of the objectives stated in the NAP is that all Finnish experts deployed for international crisis management and peacebuilding missions should receive training on the goals and implementation of UNSCR 1325. (Hatakka, 2012:188f).

At the national level, Finland’s NAP has also been included in the governmental programme. One example of this is the appointment of the Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management. Within this governmental body, the NAP’s dimensions are directly connected to the work of the Parliamentary Committee, where its objectives are implemented in crisis management, diplomacy, development cooperation, and humanitarian aid. (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2018).

3.3 Military Crisis Management and Civilian Crisis

Management

International crisis management is a term that has been widely contested and ill-defined in modern scholarship (Nyholm, 2021:4). Therefore, it is necessary to clarify that in this study, international crisis management is used as a blanket term to refer to both military crisis management and civilian crisis management. Thus, when the study purposely differentiates the two, it will either refer to military crisis management or civilian crisis management.

In practice, the definition of crisis management is dependent upon the context in which it is used. Crisis management may, for instance, refer to building of resilience in societies, peacekeeping activities or peace mediation. All in all, crisis management refers to a state’s participation in international operations on the basis of foreign and security policy means (Nyholm, 2021:4f). According to the definition of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, “the objective of crisis management is to create stability, alleviate human distress and lay down preconditions for development in areas affected by a crisis” (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2021). In other words, crisis management is an umbrella term that comprises both civilian and military activities. One reason why it used with such ambiguity – at least within the Finnish context – is the country’s emphasis on practicing a so-called

comprehensive approach in its foreign and security policy. In more detail, the

term refers to the practice of mutually coordinated military and crisis management activities, and is an approach which is believed to be the most effective means of achieving Finland’s foreign and security objectives (Ibid.).

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Since crisis management is such a widely used term, covering both civilian and military action, it is important to provide definitions of some of the key concepts that it entails. Moreover, it is necessary to differentiate between civilian

crisis management and military crisis management. In essence, the type of

personnel is the main difference between civilian crisis management and military crisis management. While military crisis management includes sending soldiers and other-military personnel to operations at crisis areas, civilian crisis management missions deploy non-military personnel (Kokkarinen et al., 2012:44f). Also, mandates of civilian crisis management operations and military crisis operations are rather different. Military crisis management operations are executive, whereas civilian crisis management operations seek to advise their target area’s local authorities (Nyholm, 2021:6). By definition, civilian crisis management refers to activities carried out by civilian experts, such as police officers, political advisers and environmental experts, which seek to support societies suffering from conflict or post-conflict situations. In more detail, civilian crisis management seeks to support the construction of good governance and a well-functioning civil society in its target areas. Means to achieve these objectives may include enforcing the rule of law and promoting human rights within a specific target area (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2021).

3.4 Gender in Finnish Crisis Management

The Finnish Foreign and Security Policy 2020 report states gender equality as being one of the country’s overarching goals in its foreign and security policy (Finnish Government, 2020:45). Adding to this aim, the report states that “Finland underscores the rights of women and girls and supports the international efforts aimed at enhancing gender equality” (Ibid., 47). Referring to UNSCR 1325, the report declares that in accordance with the resolution, Finland continues to strengthen the role of women in peace processes. The report underscores that political and economic participation of women and girls should not only be fostered through enhancing their participation and representation in peace processes but also in crisis management. In fact, this is one of the Finnish Government’s key objectives in its foreign and security policy (Ibid., 41f).

The proportion of Finnish experts in civilian crisis management missions has fluctuated remarkably over the past few decades. At its peak, the end of 2011 marked the highest number of Finnish civilian crisis management experts deployed for operations, with more than 170 experts deployed for civilian crisis management operations all over the globe (Hakanen, 2018:12). However, over the past decade, the number of civilian crisis management experts has steadily decreased. In 2020, the number of experts deployed for peace operations was 115 (Finnish Government, 2021:10).

In regards to gender, the Finnish government’s current aim is to have at least 40 per cent of women serving in civilian crisis management duties. This goal has

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been reached, given that women account for slightly more than 40 per cent of Finnish civilian crisis management experts (Finnish Government, 2021:19).

With regards to the training of civilian crisis management experts, the aspect of gender has been taken into account. For example, before their deployment to civilian crisis management operations, Finnish experts are required to attend a Basic Course on Civilian Crisis Management (BCCCM), which is a mandatory course for anyone who is interested in applying for a position within crisis management operations. This course is arranged by CMC Finland, which is the national authority and governmental institution responsible for recruiting and training civilian crisis management experts in Finland. As previously mentioned, one core aspect of BCCCM training is on issues of gender. During the BCCCM, experts learn how to take gender aspects into consideration throughout their time in operation. Before their deployment, all experts also have to participate in mandatory Pre-Deployment Training (PDT), which also covers topics related to the target area’s customs and culture, including gender.

In 2020, Finland participated in 10 military crisis management operations abroad. In total, there were 400 Finnish military-personnel serving in different operations. During recent years, the number of Finnish military-personnel serving abroad has decreased remarkably. At its highest peak, Finland has had 2,000 soldiers serving in different military crisis management operations abroad (Finnish Government, 2021:19).

The aspect of gender is also embodied within Finnish military crisis management. In fact, one of the main tasks of the Finnish Defence Forces International Centre (FINCENT) is to “act as the gender perspective and gender equality (UNSCR 1325) subject-matter expert of Finnish Defence Forces” (FINCENT 2021). The Finnish Defence Forces states that it engages with Finland’s NAP 1325 by striving to pursue gender equality and justice in accordance to the NAP’s principles (Finnish Defence Forces 2021). A gender perspective is also taken into account in the training of Finnish military crisis management personnel (Finnish Defence Forces 2021). For instance, the Finnish Defence Forces is part of the Nordic Centre for Gender in Military Operations (NCGM) that arranges training for military crisis management personnel on gender perspectives, and delivers exercises on how to mitigate conflict related sexual violence. The training also aims at familiarising participants with UNSCR 1325, and how its objectives are integrated with military crisis management at all levels. Before commencing employment in military crisis management operations, personnel are also trained on the codes of conduct of operations, which embody gender equality in all its sections (Ibid.).

In terms of increasing the number of women engaged in military crisis management, the Finnish Defence Forces have carried out campaigns that target women. The overarching aim of these campaigns has been to recruit women for military crisis management operations (Finnish Government, 2018:16). As military crisis management operations only employ personnel who have completed their professional military service training and are professional soldiers, the number of women in military crisis management operations can only

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be increased if more women decide to pursue their careers in the Finnish Defence Forces (Ibid., 41).

3.5 Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management

The Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management was formulated following the announcement of the Finnish Prime Minister Marin’s Government Programme (2019). The Parliamentary Committee was appointed for the period of 6 March 2020 to 28 February 2021. Due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic, the start of the Committee’s work was delayed by a few months. Eventually, the Committee was launched on 11 June 2020 with the purpose to produce a policy outline that would extend beyond government terms, benefitting also the work of new governments to come. The focus of the policy outline was on the international security environment. Furthermore, the Committee was tasked with conducting a report on how Finland should further develop its participation in international military and civilian crisis management. In its report, the Committee was intended to reflect the changes in international security environment and crisis management, and to detail what kind of measures these changes required in terms of Finland’s participation to international crisis management. (Ministry for Foreign Affairs, 2021).

The Committee consisted of eight members of the Finnish Parliament, having one representative from each political party. Other members of the Committee were its Chair, State Secretary for Political Affairs of Finland, and General Secretary, Director for Security Policy and Crisis Management within the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

In total, the Committee held seven meetings to discuss issues related to Finland’s participation to international crisis management. In its first meeting, the committee appointed its Chair and Vice-Chair, agreed on its aims and schedule of work, and appointed its Subject Matter Experts. Furthermore, Subject Matter Experts represented Ministries, such as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, and Ministry of Defence, as well as different organisations relevant to crisis management, such as the Finnish Defence Forces International Centre (FINCENT), Crisis Management Centre (CMC) Finland, and Finnish Development NGOs (Fingo). The role of Subject Matter Experts was to provide the Committee with guidance and insight on topics relevant to crisis management and civilian crisis management, thus supporting the Committee with its decision making and drafting the policy outline.

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4 Methodology and Data

This chapter presents the study’s methodological approach. The first section explains the concept of case study design. The second section discusses content analysis as a method, justifying its suitability for this study. The chapter also discusses coding. The last section of this chapter familiarises the reader with the study’s data.

4.1 Case Study Design

This study is a single instrumental case study. As this study focuses on examining and understanding the role of gender in the context of Finnish crisis management, a case study strategy offered an opportunity to ”shed empirical light on some theoretical concepts or principles” of the topic (Yin, 2014:79), therefore making it a suitable strategy for this study. In particular, case studies can be used to help the researcher understand how and why a phenomenon might have occurred (Thomas, 2021:5). Qualitative case study design enables a researcher to investigate the case in a detailed and thorough fashion (Bryman and Bell, 2015). Case studies are also useful in explaining which decisions a study has taken, and how these implementations have been applied in research (Thomas, 2021:5).

A case study can either refer to a single or multiple case study. The difference between the two is that a single case study seeks to shed light on theoretical concepts through the use of only one case. Conversely, multiple case study design includes several cases to understand their similarities and differences (Stake, 1995). Also, multiple case studies can be used to find contrasting results or similar results in the studies (Yin, 2014). According to Siggelkow (2007), the advantage of using single case studies is that they can describe the existence of a phenomenon opulently. Also, Yin (2014) argues, that single case study is the best choice when a researcher seeks to study one single thing. Studying only one issue makes it possible to observe the research topic more carefully than with multiple case studies, enabling the researcher to gain a deep understanding of the subject, and richly describe the existence of a phenomenon (Dyer & Wilkins, 1991; Siggelkow 2007). As this study seeks to study only one thing – the role of gender in the Parliamentary Committee’s report on crisis management – a single case study proved to be the most suitable strategy to reaching this target. Multiple case studies would enable the researcher to analyse the data in each case and across cases (Yin, 2014), but since this study is only interested in one case – the

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Parliamentary Committee’s report – using multiple case studies would not have supported the study’s objectives.

4.2 Content Analysis

The research method applied in this study is qualitative content analysis. By definition, content analysis refers to “the systematic, objective, qualitative analysis of message characteristics” (Neuendorf, 2017:19). In other words, it can be used to describe message characteristics or identify relationships between them, as well as test theories (Ibid., 71). In this study, content analysis was applied to explore how the authors of the Parliamentary Committee’s report discuss the study’s central concepts and themes. In more detail, the study seeks to discover, if and how the report’s discussion on the study’s central concepts and themes is applicable to the framework of liberal feminism. As broad critical analyses are not commonly the main research focus of qualitative content analysis, the analyses usually have a descriptive focus. Moreover, the orientation of qualitative content analysis is in summarising the informational content of data (Drisko & Maschi, 2016:86). Generally, the emphasis of qualitative research strategy is on words rather than the quantification of data (Bryman & Bell, 2015). In fact, qualitative content analysis does not utilise statistical analytic methods (Drisko & Maschi, 2016:82). However, qualitative content analysis may still involve coding in order to identify categories or themes that summarise and underscore the data set’s key content (Ibid., 88).

One of the reasons why content analysis was applied for this study is that the method is especially useful in studying the use of messages rather than human beings themselves (Neuendorf, 2017:62). Qualitative content analysis “comprises a searching-out of underlying themes in the materials being analysed” (Bryman, 2004:392). Bryman’s observation on qualitative content can also be applied to this study, which examines how gender is understood in The Parliamentary Committee’s report. However, applying qualitative content analysis also involves risks. If meanings in the data are contextual and complex, there can be differences in the way the data is interpretated (Drisko & Maschi, 2016:84). In other words, how the content of the data is understood can depend upon a researcher’s interpretation, therefore making the interpretation debatable.

In this study, a qualitative content analysis was applied and the Parliamentary Committee’s report was used as a single case study, with the purpose of exploring if and how the data represents liberal feminist thinking in the ways it perceives gender. The application of Carol Bacchi’s What’s the Problem Represented to Be (WPR) approach was considered, but a qualitative content analysis was instead applied. Moreover, Bacchi’s approach applies a set of pre-set questions, that affect the way the study results are reported. Qualitative content analysis, on the other hand, is not restricted by certain questions; content analysis enables the researcher to have freedom in the way the results of the study are reported (Neuendorf,

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2017:69). After choosing the study’s data, the material for the study’s thematic outline was selected. When carrying out a case study, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive literature review linked to the study’s objectives and research question (Ravitch & Riggan, 2012). Next, an a priori coding scheme was created for the study (see below). To summarise, codes that were searched for in the data were decided upon, in order to discover the relevant parts of the text that were to be examined. After discovering the codes in the data, they were examined in their context, in the light of liberal feminism and the study’s operational questions: how does the very part of the text, which includes one or more of the pre-set codes, discuss representation and/or participation? The next phase consisted of examining if and how the data’s discussion on these themes is in line with liberal feminist approaches. After examining the data by applying a priori coding, the final step of this study consisted of analysis and reporting. In this research, reporting consisted of writing a conclusion based on the answers to this study’s two operational questions, and the provision of recommendations for further research.

4.2.1 Coding

In order to find sections where the Parliamentary Committee’s report discussed gender-related matters, the study applied coding. More specifically, it used a

priori coding, which demands that the codes are selected before the actual coding

process. Since this study is based on a pre-existing theory, the study used pre-set coding categories. The study’s codes developed from its theory, and no new codes were added during the research process. By applying coding, this study aims at identifying passages in the way the Parliamentary Committee’s report discusses gender. By coding, one can apply labels to the material that is being researched and therefore, recognise whether they represent a certain thematic idea. Coding can also be applied to other materials besides just text, such as parts of images. All in all, coding is an efficient way for a researcher to examine data to find out how a certain theme is represented in the data (Halperin and Heath, 2012:323).

In other words, a priori coding implies that the data is applied to a pre-existing theoretical framework (Ibid.). As the topic of this study is gender, the purpose of selected codes was to find sections that discussed the topic. Therefore, the codes applied to the data were as follows: gender, female, women, woman, mother, girl,

male, man, men, boy, and father. Furthermore, the inclusion of the code girl

indicates that the software searches for relevant sections from the report that also identifies the term’s plural form: girls. Also, the code mother was included since it is a gendered term. Initially, the addition of code child was considered to the coding scheme. However, as the code does not entail a gender element it was left out from the coding scheme.

As mentioned, the addition of codes male, man, men, boy, and father were considered for this study, and these codes, in fact, were tested. The search for the additional codes did not produce any results in the data. This finding may suggest that male agency is taken for granted in the Parliamentary Committee’s report and

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therefore, it is not highlighted by utilising terms for it. Moreover, gender is brought up into the discussion only when the data considers other genders besides male. Therefore, applying words male, man, men and boy in the coding of the study would not have aided in conducting this study and finding the relevant sections from the data that discuss gender issues. This very observation shall be further deliberated upon in the study’s suggestions for future research.

In practice, the selected codes were searched for in the data one at a time. As explained previously in this chapter, the codes were analysed in their context, in the light of the study’s two operational questions and liberal feminist approach. The greatest problem that the study encountered during its coding process was that only few of the pre-selected codes were included in the Parliamentary Committee’s report. In other words, the size of data to be analysed for this study – meaning those parts that included one or more of the pre-set codes – was rather limited. Code Frequency in the data Gender 8 Female 5 Woman 0 Women 28 Girl(s) 2 Mother 0

Figure 1: The study’s coding scheme

4.3 Data

The data of this study is a 44 pages long report Effective crisis management:

Recommendations of the Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management on developing Finland’s crisis management conducted by the Parliamentary

Committee on Crisis Management. The report was published by the Finnish Government. As explained previously in this study, the Parliamentary Committee was created temporarily in March 2020 for the purpose of conducting an up-to-date overview on Finland’s participation to international crisis management, and the changes in its operating environment. The aim of the report was to provide an overview and recommendations on how Finnish participation in crisis management should be further developed in order to enhance Finland’s foreign and security policy.

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5 Theoretical Framework

This chapter forms the study’s theoretical framework. The first three sections of this chapter familiarise the reader with key concepts used in this study. Moreover, as the study’s data makes references to such concepts as gender, gender equality, and gender mainstreaming, it is necessary to briefly define and discuss these concepts. The next section introduces the reader to the concept of liberal feminism. The chapter also familiarises the reader with discussion on liberal feminism and international security.

5.1 Gender

By gender, scholars often refer to ”the socially constructed and conditioned roles, attributes, opportunities and norms that a given society at a given time considers appropriate based on biological sex” (DCAF, 2019:2). However, in feminist theory, the term has been used in two, rather contradictory ways. The first understanding of gender holds that the term refers to what is socially constructed, in contrast to what is assumed to be a person’s biological sex at birth. The second understanding, on the other hand, refers "to any social construction having to do with the male/female distinction, including those constructions that separate ’female’ bodies from ’male’ bodies” (Kandiyoti, 2007:6). According to the second definition, a person’s sex in closely connected with gender and not separate from it, given the way in which humans construct understanding of our bodies is itself subject to social interpretation (Ibid.). In other words, the term gender is an extremely inclusive category, and what it refers to depends on the theoretical position held by the researcher using it.

For instance, Joan Scott (2018) stresses that the idea of gender is based on perceived differences of the sexes, and that it signifies power relationships (Scott, 2018:42). Lorber (1994), on the other hand, believes gender to be a social institution that creates expectations for individuals and the way they live their everyday life, extending to all aspects of life: economy, ideology, family, and politics (Lorber, 1994:1). To conclude, gendered expectations and order tend to prevail in a given society. Overall, as gender is lived through our daily practices in life, it is still socially constructed and cannot therefore be considered as what defines a human being (Connell, 2009).

While recognising the complex nexus of gender and all its forms, this study, however, uses the term to cover masculine and feminine roles. In more detail, the term is used to embody all the aspects of femininity and masculinity, both

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biological and cultural: structures, dynamics, and roles associated with each gender group. This decision to use this blanket definition of the term is necessary in terms of the study’s data and research aim. Moreover, since the Parliamentary Committee’s report observes crisis management in a much broader context than just gender, it does not engage in a discussion on different gender identities or forms. Therefore, as the study seeks to examine how gender is discussed in the data, it follows this mode of logic in the way that it considers the concept.

5.2 Gender Equality

By definition, gender equality refers

to the socially constructed roles and responsibilities of women and men. It… includes the expectations held about the characteristics, aptitudes and likely behaviors of both women and men (femininity and masculinity). These roles and expectations are learned, changeable over time, and variable within and between cultures. (Woroniuk, 2001:61)

The term also holds that a person’s interests, needs, and priorities are taken into account equally, while recognising the diversity of various groups of women and men. Still, gender equality does not imply that men and women would or should become the same. Instead, it emphasises that their chances and opportunities in life should be equal. Achieving gender equality requires a change in those structures and social relations that sustain inequality between the genders. One way to change these structures that reinforce disparities is by changing institutional practices, such as public policies (Woroniuk, 2001:61).

Over the past few decades, the significance of gender equality as a part of global political agenda has received increased recognition. Moreover, scholars such as Squires (2007) stress gender equality being a precondition for social justice. Gender equality has been endorsed by governments and international organisations, many of which have stated their pursuit of it being one of their most central policy goals (Squires, 2007:1). Efforts to enhance and implement gender equality include activities such as creating institutional mechanisms that aim at increasing women’s participation in politics and policy-making (Ibid.).

5.3 Gender Mainstreaming

Gender mainstreaming refers to the means and strategy of supporting the goals of

gender equality. At the core of gender mainstreaming lies the notion that gender equality concerns should be taken into account and integrated in all policies, programs, and projects. Furthermore, the practice of gender mainstreaming entails that both men and women should be provided the possibility to partake in

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decision-making processes of such matters, including development issues (Woroniuk, 2001:62). In July 1997, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) conducted a report which delivered the main principles and practical recommendations for practising gender mainstreaming. Having provided a definition for gender mainstreaming, ECOSOC’s 1997/2 report further states:

Mainstreaming a gender perspective is the process of assessing the implications for women and men of any planned action, including legislation, policies or programmes, in all areas and at all levels. It is a strategy for making women’s as well as men’s concerns and experiences an integral dimension of the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies and programmes in all political, economic and societal spheres so that women and men benefit equally and inequality is not perpetuated. The ultimate goal is to achieve gender equality. (United Nations, 2021:2)

As described, gender mainstreaming refers to the process of examining the ways in which implemented measures might affect women and girls, and men and boys differently. In practice this means that the goal of enhancing equality has to be included in all plans, decisions, and actions. In most cases, gender mainstreaming provides a method for improving the position of women and girls, as most societies feature women and girls in a more vulnerable position than men and boys. However, there are also other critical dimensions within gender mainstreaming. For instance, the practice of comprehensive mainstreaming can reveal underlying prejudice and attitudes associated with different genders (Hatakka, 2012: 190f).

5.4 Liberal Feminism

From the very beginning of the emergence of modern feminism in the 18th century, the movement has been circled by various kinds of attitudes, concerns, and strategies. According to Hannam (2006:4), the characteristics of feminism can be agreed upon consisting of ”a recognition of an imbalance of power between the sexes, with women in subordinate role to men”. Elaborating her perception of feminism, Hannam stresses that feminist approaches hold the belief that while the present condition of women is socially constructed, it accordingly can be changed. Given that female autonomy rests at the very core of feminism, feminists reason that female voices should and must be heard. According to Hannam, feminism in general argues that women should represent themselves while having autonomy over their own lives (Ibid.).

According to Jaggar, feminist schools of thought can be widely divided into three divisions: radical, Marxist, and liberal feminism (Jaggar, 1983:239). Unlike Jaggar, scholars such as Tong (2017) stress that the variety of feminist schools of thought consists of a much wider variety of philosophies, such as ecofeminism, psychoanalytic, existential and postmodern feminism, to name a few (Tong 2017). At the heart of liberal feminism lies the belief that women suffer discrimination

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solely on the basis of their sex. Liberal feminism also argues that women ought not to encounter any kind of limitation as a group (Jaggar, 1983:176). Therefore, Oxley claims that the aim of liberal feminism is to ”free women from oppressive gender roles and achieve sexual equality”, also referred to as ”gender justice” (Oxley, 2011:258). Moreover, liberal feminism emphasises that the equality between men and women, and differences of sexes – be it physical or biological – should not matter in their treatment by society. Although the social situation of women may change over time and through new circumstances, presently the core message of liberal feminism has remained the same: in order to achieve gender justice, social institutions and political systems need to be reshaped. Overall, by stressing the equal rights granted under the law, liberal feminism promotes the equal rights of men and women in regards to participation, rights, and representation (Hudson 2002; Jaggar, 1983:181; Oxley, 2011:258). In this study, liberal feminism is operationalised by examining how two of the philosophy’s central features, participation and representation, connect with the study’s pre-set codes.

Historically, the objective of early liberal feminists was to gain the right to vote and to ensure that women and men have equal access to education. Contemporary liberal feminists, on the other hand, seek to achieve equal social, political, and economic opportunities for both women and men. Also, contemporary liberal feminists aim at securing women and men’s equality in terms of civil liberties and sexual freedoms (Oxley, 2011:258).

Liberal feminism bases its thinking on the claim that the structures of society favor men. In more detail, the philosophy argues that women are socially oppressed. Several liberal feminist scholars believe that the subordination of women is caused by their social role in the family. In other words, societal suppression of women is not a consequence of any biological factor, nor is the claim that males are more prone to practice sexual violence (Ibid., 259).

Like any other philosophy, liberal feminism also has its critics. According to Tong (2009), some critics of liberal feminism claim the philosophy being too focused on women becoming like men (Tong, 2009:40f). Critics also emphasise that liberal feminism values the rational above the emotional while ignoring the fact that humans need both (Ibid., 38). Also, some other feminist philosophies argue that liberal feminism is too focused on the individual and not the community, and tends to overlook such differences as a person’s race, socioeconomic status, and sexual orientation, therefore not embodying intersectionality. According to critics, these are relevant factors to take into consideration if one wishes to gain a deep and comprehensive understanding of issues that women in different groups may encounter (Oxley, 2011:259). In fact, critics of liberal feminism stress that the philosophy is mainly focused on serving ”the interests of white, middle-class, heterosexual women” (Tong, 2009:43). However, supporters of liberal feminism claim that the ideology has overcome these challenges, e.g. liberal feminism is nowadays attentive to the effects that a woman’s race might have on any aspects of her life according to its supporters (Ibid.).

Gendering Crisis Management : Examining the Role of Gender in the Report of The Parliamentary Committee on Crisis Management