Masculinities in Security: Reimagining the Future of the WPS Agenda

Abstract

This panel explores how masculinities are constructed, mobilized, and challenged within the field of security, and how these dynamics influence both the achievements and the limitations of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. Current transformations in global security – marked by increasing militarization, the rise of AI-driven military technologies, and growing threats of interstate war – are reshaping the gendered foundation of international policies. These developments are paralleled with other worrying trends: the exploitation and strategic use of gendered narratives in hybrid warfare, a backlash against established gender norms and agreements, as well as a remasculinization of security discourses. The U.S. administration's blatant withdrawal from the Women, Peace and Security agenda - the only international framework for combatting gender inequality in security - is emblematic of a growing resistance against the pursuit of gender equality, social justice and intersectional approaches within global governance. In this political landscape, the meanings and performances of masculinities are being renegotiated in ways that challenge insights about security, defense, and gender norms. The current geopolitical state of the world demands renewed critical engagement on men and masculinities in the field of security and defense. This panel carves out space for debates on the changing gendered landscape of security in contemporary global politics.

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