Abstract

The need to explore connections between feminism and peacemaking rests within several social/cultural conditions. First is the predominance of patriarchy in how we view conflict, war, and the field of peacemaking; second are the limited documented narratives of women as resisters of violence, mediators of conflict, and facilitators of peacemaking and community reconstruction post conflict. This chapter will focus on the general (but not comprehensive) relationships between feminism and peacemaking in the US from the 1940s until the present. The US was in no way superior in its articulation of feminism and peacemaking over other countries around the globe; instead, many US feminist peacemakers were both challenged and supported by global movements throughout this time period. It is in the interaction between the national and international where this movement is most dynamic and nourished, as will be highlighted in this chapter through references to several feminist peace theorists and educators, and particularly, in relation to the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325).