Clingendael: Establishing the Linkages between Gender and Fragility

Working Paper 1.3: The objective of this working paper is to establish the linkages between gender and fragility. This
paper builds upon the first two working papers (1.1 & 1.2). It aims at exploring the different possible linkages between gender and fragility, and identifying the gender(ed) dimensions of state fragility. The purpose is to establish a basis for further discussion, to open up interesting areas for investigation, and also to ask some critical questions. This paper is therefore not an end-product, but more of a scoping paper, to find out ‘what’s there’ and ‘what’s missing’ in the fragile states debate from a gender perspective. In order to do so, the following three questions will be addressed:

1. How does gender relate to fragility and vice versa?
2. Do fragile states exhibit certain gendered characteristics?
3. What are the gender dimensions of fragility.

Clingendael 2009

The Netherlands Institute of International Relations ‘Clingendael’ is the leading Dutch think tank and diplomatic academy on international affairs. The institute provides public and private sector organisations with in-depth analysis of global developments in the fields of economic diplomacy, international security and conflict management. Clingendael specifically focuses on the position and the role of the Netherlands.