Women in the Military in the Eu and the US

While there is substantial research about the role and effect of women on peace negotiations and agreements, literature is reduced when it comes to the military, especially on the role of Women in European Armies. Women have made substantial contributions to peacemaking and constitution-making negotiations and to the implementation of final agreements—even if their inclusion is still challenged or met with indifference by many negotiation parties and mediators. The strength of women’s influence is positively correlated with agreements being reached and implemented. In cases where women’s groups were able to exercise strong influence on a negotiation process, the chances of a final agreement being reached were much higher than in those cases where women’s influence was moderate, weak, or absent in practice. The chances of peace agreements being implemented—i.e. that the resulting peace will be sustained—were also much higher when women’s groups had a stronger influence on the process. When it comes to women in the army, there is still a lack of substantial research and for what regards Europe, this really comes from NATO. The paper will compare the status of women in the military in the European Union and the United States and will make recommendations for improvement.