Decisive Point Podcast – Ep 4-05 – Brenda Oppermann – “Enhancing US Global Competitiveness through Women, Peace, and Security”

UNITED STATES

03.27.2023

Audio by Kristen Taylor 

U.S. Army War College Public Affairs

In this episode: Global powers, regional hegemons, and non-state actors engaged in a perennial state of competition dominate today’s security environment. In response, the Department of Defense has adopted the competition continuum model of cooperation, competition below armed conflict, and armed conflict. The military could significantly improve its efforts to compete along this continuum and achieve national security objectives by leveraging the Women, Peace, and Security global policy framework that supports gender equality and values women’s diverse roles in global security.

Read the article: https://press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters/vol53/iss1/9/

Episode Transcript: “Enhancing US Global Competitiveness through Women, Peace, and Security”
Stephanie Crider (Host)

You’re listening to Decisive Point. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of the Department of the Army, the US Army War College, or any other agency of the US government.

I’m talking with Brenda Opperman today, associate professor in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the US Naval War College and author of “Enhancing US Global Competitiveness through Women, Peace, and Security” from the Spring 2023 issue of Parameters.

Welcome to Decisive Point, Brenda. I’m delighted to chat with you today.

Brenda Oppermann

Hi, Stephanie. Thanks so much for inviting me to speak with you today. I’m really happy to be here.

Host

Your article opens with “Women, peace and security (WPS) is a global policy framework that supports gender equality and values women’s diverse roles in conflict and security.” Lay the groundwork for us, please, and explain WPS as a national security issue.

Oppermann

Thanks, Stephanie. I think a little bit of history might be helpful to understand what women peace and security is and kind of its genesis. So, in October 2000, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, linking gender equality and international peace and security. It also recognized the importance of women’s full and equal participation in all peace and security activities, which have been, and, of course, as you know, continue to be male-dominated. Since Resolution 1325 was adopted, the WPS Framework has continued to evolve. There are now nine more WPS-related resolutions. And 100 countries have developed WPS national action plans, which is the primary mechanism to implement the framework.

In our own interests, the US adopted two national action plans. The first one was in 2011, followed by a revised what we call NAP in 2016. And then in 2017, the US passed the WPS Act of 2017, now called the WPS Act, becoming the only country in the world to codify its commitment to WPS principles. As a follow on to the Act, or required by the Act, I should say, the US also created a WPS strategy in 2019. And in 2020, the Department of Defense, the Department of State, USAID, and the Department of Homeland Security each developed a WPS implementation plan. DoD’s is called the “WPS Strategic Framework and Implementation Plan.” That’s a lot of words, so we call that the SFIP for short.

WPS . . . it’s a national security issue since it broadens our understanding of national and global security by highlighting the role of women in the context of conflict, peace, stability, and security, as well as the impact of gender equality in creating and maintaining security and stability. So more than 15 years of research shows that countries with greater gender equality are less prone to violent conflict and are more secure and stable.

Host

Let’s talk about the joint concept of integrated campaigning (JCIC). What is it, and how does it relate to this topic?

Oppermann

Yes, another mouthful. The joint concept for integrated campaigning, right? So, it provides an intellectual framework to help us conceive of today’s continually changing security environment—so, addressing any new challenge, to include security, calls for first thinking differently. In my mind, you can’t “do differently” unless you “think differently.” And the JCIC helps us to think differently about our complex evolving security environment by offering an alternative to the obsolete peace and war binary.

So, I like the JCIC because it proposes the notion of a competition continuum, which is a whole different way to think about security and how we maintain peace and security. And so the JCIC’s competition continuum is a new three-part model of competition. It involves cooperation, competition below armed conflict, and armed conflict. I think this is really important because it reminds us that there are many ways to compete in the context of security. Those of us working in DoD essentially have many tools in the toolbox to compete more effectively. So having worked on women, Peace, and Security for decades, it’s kind of natural for me to start questioning how this framework and its principles were reflected in the competition continuum. Basically, I was thinking about how could WPS be leveraged to enhance our ability to compete? So I’ve watched over the years as efforts to implement WPS and DoD have steadily increased. I’ve seen how more and more people in defense and other places are becoming aware of women’s direct involvement in peace and war—the old binary.

We know that women have been aggressors. They’ve been peacebuilders and have served as early warning signs of impending conflict and increasing conflict. So, while there’s been a distinct increase in situational awareness about women’s diverse roles in peace and conflict, I haven’t heard much discussion about women’s agency in the context of global competition. So I decided to look into it. I looked at women’s participation and the role of gender norms in the context of global competition— specifically, looking at the three ways to compete outlined in the JCIC. And so, my article discusses these using examples from Syria, North Korea, and China.

Host

What is the WPS conceptual framework and how can the Department of Defense leverage it in the context of armed conflict?

Oppermann

It’s just really important. I know DoD is generally focused on armed conflict, but the reason for the JCIC again is to have us think differently in order to face today’s challenges. And so, we can compete in other ways. As well. As mentioned earlier, WPS makes us think about the gendered aspects of security, to include things like women’s participation, the role of gender norms (very important), and gender equality. By using a gender lens to analyze the security environment, we conceive of it very differently. The gender analysis helps to overcome biases that can limit operational effectiveness. And by exposing the impact of women in conflict-affected areas, which is generally overlooked, a gender analysis reveals a security landscape that’s much more complex than we often assume.

So we saw this in Afghanistan, for instance. Once the army realized that the Afghan women were supporting the insurgents, it changed its tactics, techniques, and procedures, and reaped significant benefits. So as an example, while I was working in Afghanistan, the Army finally began to include female soldiers on raids in Afghan compounds. So, during a 2011 raid, on a compound in Kandahar Province, a female American soldier discovered a hollowed-out Koran tucked into an infant’s swaddling while she and other female soldiers were searching Afghan women. So, the Koran contained cell phones with the names and numbers of insurgents, handwritten lists of names, and other incriminating documents. So, this discovery improved counterinsurgency efforts directly and was a wakeup call of sorts for battalion commanders, who assumed that insurgent activity was solely a male domain.

Another example of how WPS principles serve to enhance our ability to compete at the level of armed conflict was US support of the homegrown defense forces in the Kurdish areas of Syria. The People’s Protection Units, known as the YPG, and its all-female People’s Protection Force (the YPJ), played a key role in the military defeat of ISIS. The Kurds enhanced their combat operations, right, by leveraging the talent, knowledge, and abilities of both men and women in their security forces, and so this enabled the US to successfully compete through armed conflict there by working closely with the all female force that displayed exceptional leadership, discipline, and combat effectiveness. And so another important WPS-related aspect of working with the Kurds in Syria was their deep support of gender equality, which was evident in their armed forces, as mentioned, with the two, all-male and all female forces that worked together and separately, as well as their democratic form of governance. And, as mentioned, research shows that countries that are more gender equal are less violent and more stable. Consequently, by partnering with the Kurds, we not only competed effectively through combat, but we also engaged in effective follow through.

The JCIC emphasizes that follow-through after armed conflict is a key component of the competition continuum because we all know from experience that winning a battle doesn’t equate with winning the war. Essentially, without critical follow-through, we don’t achieve our policy aims. So, in short, we’ve seen that supporting those who support gender equality translates to a greater chance of success when it comes to promoting long-term security and stability. And I think it’s really important for DoD to recognize that adopting what I’ll call a “WPS mindset” is the first step to doing this.

Host

Do you have any final thoughts you’d like to share before we go?

Oppermann

Yes. If you don’t mind, Stephanie, I’d really like to give a shoutout to the many people in the DoD who are doing exceptional work to operationalize and institutionalize WPS. While this work helps us to be a better force, I also want to highlight the importance of WPS as a means to help us improve our thinking—not just our doing.

So, the notion of a competition continuing with three distinct elements was developed to help us expand our thinking about how to compete effectively in today’s complex security environment. Women, Peace, and Security does the same thing. It’s also an intellectual framework, a conceptual framework, a mental model that enables us to see the global security environment as it is, which is something that is created and impacted by men and women in equal measure. So, adopting what I’ll call a WPS mindset would go a long way toward helping the DoD realize its full potential as an organization as well as its ability to envision and operationalize the competition continuum.

Host

Thank you.

Listeners, you can download “Enhancing US Global Competitiveness through Women, Peace, and Security” at press.armywarcollege.edu/parameters. Look for volume 53, issue 1.

Brenda, thanks so much for your time today. It was a real pleasure talking with you.

Oppermann

Stephanie, thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed the conversation.

Other Resources about Women, Peace, and Security
DPPA Women Peace and Security Policy, New York 2019.

UN DPPA (2020), Opening the Doors to Women’s Meaningful Participation, New York: United Nations. [7 pages] Poster also available.

DPPA: Guidance on Gender and Inclusive Mediation Strategies. New York 2017. Online: https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/1.%20English%20-GIMS.pdf

DPPA: Guidance for Mediators. Addressing Conflict-Related Sexual Violence in Ceasefire and Peace Agreements. New York 2012. Online: https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/GuidanceAdressingConflictRelatedSexualViolence_UNDPA%28english%29_1.pdf

UN DPPA (2020), From Words to Action: The Experience of UN Political Missions in Colombia on Women, Peace, and Security.

UN DPPA and UN Women (2020), COVID-19 and Conflict: Advancing Women’s Meaningful Participation in Ceasefires and Peace Processes, New York: United Nations.

UN DPPA (2021), Women Peace and Security (WPS) & Youth Peace and Security (YPS) Complementarities of the two agendas, New York

About the author: Brenda Oppermann, JD, MA, is an associate professor in the College of Leadership and Ethics at the US Naval War College. Before joining the Naval War College, she conducted stability operations in conflict-affected countries in Africa, Central Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

• Date Taken: 03.27.2023
• Date Posted: 06.20.2023 16:28
• Category: Newscasts
• Audio ID: 74966
• Filename: 2306/DOD_109718443.mp3
• Length: 00:10:44
• Artist: US Army War College Press
• Album: Decisive Point Podcast – Season 4
• Track #: 05
• Year: 2023
• Genre: Podcast
• Location: US