ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses some of the challenges in using the gender perspective in an operational context, as well as some of the unintended consequences. It demonstrates is how those tasked with advancing North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) engagement with Women, Peace and Security broadly and those tasked with developing an institutional understanding of the gender perspective specifically, articulated the challenges they faced. The chapter shows that the power of these structural hierarchies and that the success of integrating a gender perspective within NATO is ultimately dependent upon the acceptance of those in command. It describes how the gender perspective is re-linked to women, women’s bodies and their perspectives when discussing operational benefits and successes; thereby making women externally valuable to NATO’s goals and objectives in contrast to their internally problematic position. In order to explore how the military visions of a gender perspective have emerged at NATO.
