Ongoing Research Projects

Breadcrumbs

The research team at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security pursues topics — including women’s roles in preventing conflict and building peace, expanding women’s economic opportunities, and addressing global threats like climate change.

The research outputs range from policy briefs to major global reports, as well as peer-reviewed publications and book chapters. We are grateful to all the partners supporting our research. 

Our current research projects are outlined below. For more information, please contact giwps@georgetown.edu.

Peace and Security

Masculinities and Peacebuilding

The Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security is collaborating with the Sasakawa Peace Foundation on a research project examining the intersection of the WPS agenda and masculinities in peacebuilding contexts. The project aims to increase our understanding of 1) the role of masculinities in grassroots and institutional peacebuilding efforts, 2) the gap between the implementation of the WPS agenda and research on violent masculinities, and 3) opportunities to transform and create new masculinities. Based on surveys, focus groups, and interviews in five conflict-affected settings across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the project’s findings will inform new approaches of engaging men as allies for sustainable peace.

Women, Peace and Security Index

In collaboration with the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO), and with support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we continue to update the WPS index which measures the comprehensive well-being of women across the world by generating new index rankings and analysis.

Commitment 2025

The Institute for Women, Peace and Security is supporting the Governments of Finland and Spain in creating a framework for assessing progress advancing Commitment 2025, a multilateral effort to advance women’s inclusion in peace and security worldwide. Drawing on data from a wide range of sources globally, the GIWPS team is creating a monitoring and reporting system that will enable streamlined tracking of progress advancing implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 and related international law.

Islam and Negotiation Action Guide

This Action Guide is designed as a practical tool to assist Muslim negotiators and non-Muslim negotiators who are involved in negotiations with Muslims to more effectively organize, strategize and negotiate in contexts where Islam informs the negotiation process, participants’ worldviews, and key issues. It is specially designed to empower and support Muslim women negotiators during formal and informal negotiations,  with a focus on negotiating gender justice and women’s rights as well human rights, democratic institutions from an Islamic perspective.

Gender and Climate Change

Gender, Climate, and Fragility

Against the backdrop of what is already known about the gendered impacts of climate change as a threat multiplier that exacerbates fragility, this report will identify promising entry points for empowering women to join climate change mitigation/adaptation efforts. The report focuses on three climate-related drivers of fragility: 1) food insecurity, 2) energy poverty and reliance on non-renewable energy, and 3) gender-blind early warning systems and disaster risk reduction. It uses diverse case studies to identify potential gender-inclusive entry points that address these drivers. These promising entry points form the basis of this report’s recommendations for policymakers and practitioners.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

DEI in Higher Education

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Resource project provides research and tools for schools of international affairs and public policy striving to improve their curriculum, school culture, and the diversity of their school community. The effort compiles the academic evidence that it is important to integrate DEI into curricula and to create an inclusive school climate. Further, the project compiles scholarly research, syllabus guides, and resources for advancing the focus on DEI in higher education.