Configurations of Post-Conflict: Impacts of Representations of Conflict and Post-Conflict upon the (Political) Translations of Gender Security within UNSCR 1325

UNSCR 1325 is a Security Council Resolution designed to operate in post-conflict contexts. ‘Post-conflict’ is a discourse with contested temporal and spatial aspects, raising questions about how different perspectives towards ‘post-conflict’ has affected interpretations of UNSCR 1325 on the ground. Given the contestability of ‘post-conflict’, surprisingly little research has focused upon how what is identified as the ‘post-conflict problem’ shapes responses to UNSCR 1325. To address this gap, I contrast configurations of ‘post-conflict’ within three different initiatives in Serbia that have drawn upon UNSCR 1325. The constructions of ‘post-conflict’ are understood through an analytical strategy concerned with the representation of conflict and post-conflict reconstruction within each initiative. Making explicit antagonisms at the heart of ‘post-conflict’ demonstrates how the logic of gender security as it relates to UNSCR 1325 is shaped by the specific problematization of ‘post-conflict’. This article outlines new empirical research on the utilization of UNSCR 1325 within three different political contexts in Serbia to assert the importance of realizing the contestability of ‘post-conflict’ contexts in shaping how we might respond to UNSCR 1325, and indeed, any international policy or ambition intended as a response to post-conflict situations.