ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates that individuals and groups at mission sites are not passive recipients of peace operation programming but instead actively work to influence peace operations to reflect their own priorities, seeking an 'ally' within the mission structure. It begins with a critical feminist reading of how the role of civil society is positioned in peacebuilding, with 'women's organisations' as a specific narrative within this rhetoric. The chapter argues that this effect of peace operations is overlooked by intervening institutions, with resistance to gender programming often framed as emanating solely from 'patriarchal' traditional structures and cultures. It addresses two issues, critique challenges the notion that, first, civil society can be representative of the broader community, and second, that these actors can therefore legitimise peacebuilding policy. The chapter examines the diverse and hierarchical nature of the 'local' space, which can impair the ability of 'national' organisations working on various issues, such as gender.
