Rethinking Masculinities

Masculinity associated with armed groups tends to be built on assumptions of violence and insecurity. This study, however, examines other ways in which the experience of participation in an armed group may impact upon notions of masculinity held by low-level male combatants, both during conflict and in the aftermath. Using the case of Nepal, the research focuses on how men of the People’s Liberation Army experienced and engaged with an ideology espoused by the leadership, that advocated for a more gender equal ideology than existed in traditional Nepali society. Focusing on masculinity change across four different time frames: pre-conflict, conflict time, the DDR period and post-conflict, the analysis pays close attention to changes in attitudes towards gender specific roles and conduct, and perceptions of gender hierarchies. The study is located within feminist and masculinity literature, and also scholarship on peace and conflict. Whilst providing fresh insights into these literatures it also exposes how masculinity change is not straightforward but influenced by both past and present, which leads to contradiction and continuity in a post-conflict context.

Heidi Riley is Assistant Professor in International Relations in the School of Politics and International Relations, University College Dublin.