Abstract
The aim of this paper is to look at the impact of gender mainstreaming as a strategy in evaluation and planning in the context of international interventions. UN Security Council Resolution 1325 provides an important tool for the introduction of a gender dimension to security policy. The paper will therefore bring together two bodies of literature looking at gender theories of security as well as mainstream approaches seeking to explain/understand the social impact of international interventions. Focusing on the UK official responses to 1325, the paper will examine the impact of mainstream/malestream policy approaches to security and intervention in the context of intended gender consequences of specific policies. This discussion will outline and assess the opportunity structures entrenched within particular policy approaches and the increasing awareness that they also have long lasting unintended consequences. The paper will finally evaluate the effectiveness of mainstreaming (particularly its main policy tool: gender impact assessment) as a political strategy for promoting the gender equality agenda. Paper presented at BISA Annual Conference, Manchester 2011. http://www.bisa.ac.uk/