Gendered Military Divisions - Doing Peacekeeping as Part of the Postnational Defence

Abstract

In the turn towards a postnationaldefence, military organizations arebecoming increasingly diverse.Based on an ethnographic study of aSwedish international service unit,this article highlights tensions in theseemingly homogenous soldiercollective and shows how demarcationsof gender as well as occupation areactive in shaping military work.

Letting the Right Ones in. Gendered Boundary Work in the Military Profession

“…As Witz (1992) noted, processes of exclusion are accompanied by processes of inclusion. UN Resolution 1325, positioning women as integral to successful peacekeeping, is an example of a process of inclusion contributing to a reshaping of the boundaries of the military profession (Persson, 2013;Persson & Sundevall, 2019). Through this resolution, and accompanying gender mainstreaming policies, a different, affirmative, discourse about women's competencies and contributions has been established at an international level.…”

“…As military work changes, so do gender dynamics within and around the military profession. And conversely, as gender policies, organisational, national and international, change the working conditions of both men and women, what it means to be "a real soldier" is redefined (Persson, 2013).…”

“…Condensing the issue of military boundary work, we will illuminate the ways in which gender has been discussed in the context of three themes central to military work: combat, bodily abilities and cohesion. These are themes that have appeared essential in both the field of gender in the military and in our respective studies of the Danish and Swedish armed forces (Persson, 2011(Persson, , 2013Sløk-Andersen, 2014, 2018a.…”

“…Considering this through the lens of boundary work, the body becomes a site for the policing of professional boundaries, as perceptions of strength and ability become mechanisms for inclusion and exclusion. After interviewing soldiers, observing units and scrutinising admissions requirements in our previous studies (Persson, 2011(Persson, , 2013Sløk-Andersen, 2014, 2018a, we understand bodily abilities as closely intertwined with professional standards and considered of great value and importance in military work. During a week of observations at a recruitment centre, Sløk-Andersen, for instance, noticed how membership of the Danish armed forces was described as entailing work "of a quite physical character."…”

“…In the Swedish case (Persson, 2011), the study focused primarily on how gender relations and professional relations in the Swedish armed forces were transformed through the increased focus on international missions. The study comprised three separate sets of data collection: an interview study with eight women officers who entered the armed forces in the 1980s (Pettersson, Persson & Berggren, 2008), an interview study with nine employees in strategic roles at the armed forces headquarters (Persson, 2010a), and a five-week ethnographic study following the training of a military unit preparing for an international mission (Persson, 2010b(Persson, , 2012(Persson, , 2013.…”