Taking Action: The Emergence of Networks of Women’s Civil Society Organizations During Civil Wars

When and why do networks of women’s civil society organizations (WCSOs) form during civil wars? Previous work on women’s mobilization in civil wars have focused on factors like sexual violence to explain the activation of women’s movements and to date, there has been little focus on the formation of networks of women’s organizations. I seek to fill this gap in the literature by examining how and why networks develop. Networks, in this project, takes the social movement approach wherein the salient actors are those who are working toward a specific cause. I argue that women’s networks coalesce as a result of two groups of country and conflict-level factors. First, the country’s history of women’s participation in civil society, historical freedom of civil society, and presence of international actors prior to the war suggests greater institutional ability to mobilize as the war progresses. Second, sexual violence perpetrated during the war and the level of violence in the war can create grievances to which women respond, even if the political sphere was not completely open prior to the war’s outbreak. Sexual and overall violence may have a threshold effect as low levels of either may not be enough to spur groups to action while too high levels may represent an existential threat to the organizations and the women of which they are comprised. I further argue that WCSOs form networks in order to build strength among their groups, demonstrate unity in purpose, and pass information between organizations to meet their stated end goals. Because women are marginalized in many societies, especially in countries experiencing conflict, formation of networks represents one of the most effective ways that WCSOs can push their agenda and raise public awareness for their demands.