Women’s Transformative Power in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict

Abstract

AbstractA protracted ethnic conflict generates strongly nationalist and exclusive rhetoric through the processes of dehumanizing and othering externally, and promotion of militarism and patriarchy internally. Drawing from theories of gender and conflict studies, this chapter illustrates how, in Armenia and Azerbaijan, some women oppose an inclusive culture of peace in favour of nationalist and dehumanizing discourses. Evidence from the two countries suggest that grassroots and community-driven approaches to peacebuilding can constitute confidence-building measures that transform the paradigm of “women as victims” into “women as agents of change.”