At the latest since Judith Butler introduced the understanding of gender as performance it is obvious that practice theory is a good ally when analyzing gender roles. However, this understanding has not yet inspired many studies concerning the nexus of gender and peacebuilding. Especially when it comes to the analysis of masculinity this lack is especially striking. This paper sets out to develop a theoretical framework that will use practice theory in order to grasp to what extent masculinities, which are centered on violent practices, can be transformed during the different processes of post-conflict peacebuilding. To do so, we will first point to the specific benefits of using practice theory for a gendered analysis, namely the ability to address both stability and change of gender roles, the focus on practices as routinized behavior, and the possibility to include diverse levels of analysis and their interplay. In a next step we will use the existing literature on gender roles in the post-conflict context to identify specific practices that can be regarded as representing either violence-centered or not-violence-centered masculinities at different analytical levels. In a last step, we will illustrate the viability of our framework by identifying possible mechanisms by which security sector reforms might contribute to the transformation of violence-centered masculinities. Thus, the paper will contribute to the theoretical understanding of masculinities in the post-conflict context and will provide a framework for further analysis of peacebuilding endeavors.
