ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the notion of empowerment, or more precisely, women's participation, as a central aspect of incorporating 'gender' into peace operation practice. It also examines how political participation was defined and performed in the Timor-Leste case. The empowerment of women underlies all international conventions aimed at reducing gender discrimination and improving equality between men and women. Empowerment is conceptualised in broad terms that speak to both physical and structural violence as well as discrimination. In post-conflict peacebuilding and recovery, empowerment comes to rest on increasing the representation of women, both within peace operations and in terms of political and electoral representation in host states. Empowering women through their participation is therefore suggested as both a means and an end in instituting liberal democratic principles as part of post-conflict reconstruction, given the place of democratisation as a cornerstone of the liberal peace paradigm.
