Members of the Women, Peace & Private Security Network
Megan Bastick
Marina Caparini
Megan Bastick
Megan Bastick is based in the Gender and Security Division of the Geneva Centre for Security Secort Governance (DCAF). Her work aims to support the integration of gender perspectives and the promotion of women's rights in good governance of the security sector.
Megan has also written or edited many of DCAF's publications on gender and sec
Megan Bastick is based in the Gender and Security Division of the Geneva Centre for Security Secort Governance (DCAF). Her work aims to support the integration of gender perspectives and the promotion of women's rights in good governance of the security sector.
Megan has also written or edited many of DCAF's publications on gender and security and associated training curriculum. Megan led, with UN Women and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the development of the 2020 Gender and Security Toolkit.
Megan has also trained and worked with the UN, NATO, and government officials, armed forces and local women's organisations in a range of countries and contexts.
Soumita Basu
Marina Caparini
Megan Bastick
Dr Soumita Basu is Assistant Professor in International Relations
at the South Asian University, New Delhi. She is also a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State,
Bloemfontein, South Africa.
She has worked with Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace in New Delhi and Kashmir, and the PeaceWomen project of the Women’
Dr Soumita Basu is Assistant Professor in International Relations
at the South Asian University, New Delhi. She is also a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State,
Bloemfontein, South Africa.
She has worked with Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace in New Delhi and Kashmir, and the PeaceWomen project of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (in New York.
Soumita publishes on gender, security and the United Nations in edited volumes as well as journals. She is a Senior Editor of the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of International Studies, and serves on the editorial boards of International Feminist Journal of Politics, Politics & Gender, and Review of International Studies.
Marina Caparini
Marina Caparini
Marina Caparini
Dr Marina Caparini is a Senior Researcher and Director of the Governance and Society Programme at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
She is currently working on non-state actors in conflict, security and governance; policing in stabilisation environments; the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus; and the role
Dr Marina Caparini is a Senior Researcher and Director of the Governance and Society Programme at Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
She is currently working on non-state actors in conflict, security and governance; policing in stabilisation environments; the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus; and the role of gender-sensitive and inclusive health initiatives to strengthen social cohesion and peace in conflict-affected contexts.
With a background in war studies and comparative politics, she has provided analysis and policy support to a range of international and regional organisations, host and donor governments, and advocacy and human rights groups.
Amanda Chisholm
Marina Caparini
Marina Caparini
Dr Amanda Chisholm is a Senior Lecturer researching and teaching on gender and security at King’s College London.
She is Co-Director of the Women, Peace and Private Security Research Network, and Co-Chair of the Working Group on PMSCs and WPS in a Globalised World. She is also the incoming chair for the Feminist Theory and Gender Studies
Dr Amanda Chisholm is a Senior Lecturer researching and teaching on gender and security at King’s College London.
She is Co-Director of the Women, Peace and Private Security Research Network, and Co-Chair of the Working Group on PMSCs and WPS in a Globalised World. She is also the incoming chair for the Feminist Theory and Gender Studies Section of International Studies Association.
Amanda’s research focuses on the privatisation and decentring of global war-making. She employs ethnographic methodologies to examine the racial and gendered aspects of private military and security companies’ global operations as they impact the broader Women Peace and Security Agenda.
Maya Eichler
Charlotte Isaksson
Andrea Ellner
Dr Maya Eichler holds the Canada Research Chair in Social Innovation and Community Engagement and is an Associate Professor of Political and Canadian Studies and Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University.
She is Co-Chair of the working group on States as Clients and Regulators of PMSCs, for the Women Peace and Private Security Res
Dr Maya Eichler holds the Canada Research Chair in Social Innovation and Community Engagement and is an Associate Professor of Political and Canadian Studies and Women’s Studies at Mount Saint Vincent University.
She is Co-Chair of the working group on States as Clients and Regulators of PMSCs, for the Women Peace and Private Security Research Network.
Maya also holds the position of Director of the Centre for Social Innovation and Community Engagement in Military Affairs at Mount Saint Vincent University.
Her current research focuses on gender-based and intersectional analysis of defence policy, the armed forces, military sexual violence, military-to-civilian transitions, and community stories of war and peace.
Andrea Ellner
Charlotte Isaksson
Andrea Ellner
Dr Andrea Ellner is a Lecturer in Defence Studies at King’s College, London where she is the academic lead on gender, armed forces and violent conflict in professional military education at the UK Joint Services Command & Staff College.
An inter-disciplinary scholar, Ellner is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies
Dr Andrea Ellner is a Lecturer in Defence Studies at King’s College, London where she is the academic lead on gender, armed forces and violent conflict in professional military education at the UK Joint Services Command & Staff College.
An inter-disciplinary scholar, Ellner is a member of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the European Chapter of the International Society of Military Ethics (Euro-ISME) and the Centre for Military Ethics, King’s College, London.
Dr Ellner’s research combines historical and contemporary, political, societal and cultural perspectives on gender, war and peace, military, society and culture and moral injury and ethics.
In addition to regular contributions to scholarly and policy oriented conferences she has engaged in educational outreach activities with British and international armed forces on gender, war and integration of women into the military as well as moral injury.
Jamie Hagen
Charlotte Isaksson
Charlotte Isaksson
Dr Jamie J. Hagen is a Lecturer in international relations at Queen's University Belfast where she is the founding Co-Director of the Centre for Gender in Politics.
Her work at the intersection of gender, security studies and queer theory appears in a number of peer reviewed journals including International Affairs, and Critical Studies i
Dr Jamie J. Hagen is a Lecturer in international relations at Queen's University Belfast where she is the founding Co-Director of the Centre for Gender in Politics.
Her work at the intersection of gender, security studies and queer theory appears in a number of peer reviewed journals including International Affairs, and Critical Studies in Security.
Jamie was the 2018-2019 International Studies Association James N. Rosenau Post-Doctoral Fellow. For Spring 2019 she was also a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the London School for Economics and Politics.
Charlotte Isaksson
Charlotte Isaksson
Charlotte Isaksson
Charlotte Isaksson is a Senior Gender Advisor for the European External Action Service. She works primarily on gender equality and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in the domain of Security and Defence, including operations and missions.
She was Gender Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the functional manager for the integr
Charlotte Isaksson is a Senior Gender Advisor for the European External Action Service. She works primarily on gender equality and Women, Peace and Security (WPS) in the domain of Security and Defence, including operations and missions.
She was Gender Advisor to the Supreme Allied Commander Europe and the functional manager for the integration of gender perspective within Allied Command Operations, at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. She previously served positions within the Directorate of Operations at the Swedish Armed Forces Headquarters, Swedish Armed Forces HQ and with the Swedish Ministry of Defense.
Ms Isaksson’s main work has been focusing on Gender Equality and Integration of a gender perspective, including on WPS and related resolutions on conflict-related sexual violence.
Sorcha MacLeod
Henri Myrttinen
Sorcha MacLeod
Dr Sorcha MacLeod is an Associate Professor and Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow in the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen. She is also the current Chair of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries.
She is one of the Co-Chairs of the Working Group on PMSCs and WPS in a Globalised World, for the Women Peace and Private Secur
Dr Sorcha MacLeod is an Associate Professor and Marie Skłodowska Curie Fellow in the Faculty of Law at the University of Copenhagen. She is also the current Chair of the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries.
She is one of the Co-Chairs of the Working Group on PMSCs and WPS in a Globalised World, for the Women Peace and Private Security Research Network.
She researches the effectiveness of regulatory and governance frameworks in ensuring human rights compliance by private military and security companies, with a focus on marginalised groups.
Mac McClelland
Henri Myrttinen
Sorcha MacLeod
Dr T B (Mac) McClelland Jr is a retired officer in the US Marine Corps.
Living and working in the Middle East and North Africa for over 40 years, he has extensive experience in and with political, social, and military affairs in the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and Africa. He has long advised the US military, US Department of State and co
Dr T B (Mac) McClelland Jr is a retired officer in the US Marine Corps.
Living and working in the Middle East and North Africa for over 40 years, he has extensive experience in and with political, social, and military affairs in the Middle East, Southwest Asia, and Africa. He has long advised the US military, US Department of State and consular officials, and foreign government and military officials on African and Arab affairs.
McClelland has led complex multicultural international organizations with Profit & Loss responsibility for J. Ray McDermott and Enron Middle East. He currently leads a management consulting firm based in Dubai focused on business development, government relations, and marketing in Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
Henri Myrttinen
Henri Myrttinen
Henri Myrttinen
Dr Henri Myrttinen is a freelance-consultant with Gender Associations International Consulting in Berlin, and has been working on gender, peace and security issues for over 15 years, both as a researcher and in various NGOs.
He is Co-chair of the Local Perspectives on PMSCs Working Group for the Women Peace and Private Security Research N
Dr Henri Myrttinen is a freelance-consultant with Gender Associations International Consulting in Berlin, and has been working on gender, peace and security issues for over 15 years, both as a researcher and in various NGOs.
He is Co-chair of the Local Perspectives on PMSCs Working Group for the Women Peace and Private Security Research Network.
Henri’s research focused on issues of masculinities in conflict and peacebuilding and more recently on diverse sexual orientations and gender identities in these contexts.
Sara Meger
Henri Myrttinen
Henri Myrttinen
Dr Sara Meger is a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Melbourne, where she researches and teaches on issues of gender, armed conflict, and political violence.
Her current research is focused on the political economy of armed conflict and the gendered nature and determinants of violence perpetrated therein.
Recent art
Dr Sara Meger is a Lecturer in International Relations at the University of Melbourne, where she researches and teaches on issues of gender, armed conflict, and political violence.
Her current research is focused on the political economy of armed conflict and the gendered nature and determinants of violence perpetrated therein.
Recent articles from this research have been published in Review of International Studies, Globalizations, International Studies Quarterly, Postcolonial Studies, and the International Feminist Journal of Politics. She is the author of Rape Loot Pillage: The Political Economy of Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict (Oxford University Press, 2016).
Louise Olsson
Jean-Michel Rousseau
Swarna Rajagopalan
Dr Louise Olsson is Senior Researcher and Coordinator of the Gender Research Group at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and the former Senior Advisor on Women, Peace, and Security at the Folke Bernadotte Academy, Sweden.
Current research projects include investigating the retention of female personnel in the Swedish Armed Forces,
Dr Louise Olsson is Senior Researcher and Coordinator of the Gender Research Group at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), and the former Senior Advisor on Women, Peace, and Security at the Folke Bernadotte Academy, Sweden.
Current research projects include investigating the retention of female personnel in the Swedish Armed Forces, reducing barriers for women in military operations and the effects of peace agreement implementation on women’s security and empowerment.
She is the editor of Gender, Peace and Security: Implementing UN Resolution 1325 (Routledge 2015) and author of articles appearing in Global Governance, Social Science Research, Journal of Global Security Studies, and International Peacekeeping.
Swarna Rajagopalan
Jean-Michel Rousseau
Swarna Rajagopalan
Swarna Rajagopalan works as a writer, political analyst and consultant in Chennai, India. She is the founding trustee of the Prajnya Trust, which is a non-profit centre for policy research, advocacy and networking in the areas of peace, justice and security.
Her consultancy, Chaitanya, has undertaken educational programming, research conf
Swarna Rajagopalan works as a writer, political analyst and consultant in Chennai, India. She is the founding trustee of the Prajnya Trust, which is a non-profit centre for policy research, advocacy and networking in the areas of peace, justice and security.
Her consultancy, Chaitanya, has undertaken educational programming, research conferences, commissioned research, research direction and reviews as well as project evaluations and reviews.
She is active as a scholar on traditional and non-traditional security topics. She also writes for both print and electronic media.
Hannah Rosen
Jean-Michel Rousseau
Jean-Michel Rousseau
Hannah Rosen is a Policy Analyst and Intersectional Gender Equity Specialist working for the Department of National Defence, Canada, and Canadian Armed Forces.
She focuses on systemic integration and innovation of gender equity and intersectionality in the defence and military context. The broader goal of her work is to ensure gender equi
Hannah Rosen is a Policy Analyst and Intersectional Gender Equity Specialist working for the Department of National Defence, Canada, and Canadian Armed Forces.
She focuses on systemic integration and innovation of gender equity and intersectionality in the defence and military context. The broader goal of her work is to ensure gender equity and intersectional analysis are fully integrated into the department; resulting in a more equitable approach to military and defence policies, programs, services, and operations.
Jean-Michel Rousseau
Jean-Michel Rousseau
Jean-Michel Rousseau
Jean-Michel Rousseau is the Deputy Head of the Business and Security Division at the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) . He leads DCAF's work to strengthen the regulation of private military and security companies at international and regional policy levels and through national implementation support in more than 25 coun
Jean-Michel Rousseau is the Deputy Head of the Business and Security Division at the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) . He leads DCAF's work to strengthen the regulation of private military and security companies at international and regional policy levels and through national implementation support in more than 25 countries.
He has also has been an invited expert to the UN Inter-Governmental Working Group on Private Military and Security Companies, the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries, and the Committee for Hemispheric Security of the Organisation of American States, among others.
Julia Sachseder
Darja Schildknecht
Darja Schildknecht
Julia Sachseder is a post-doctoral fellow at the Departments of International Relations and Gender Studies at the Central European University. She is also an affiliated postdoctoral researcher at the Austrian Institute of International Affairs and lecturer at the Department of Political Science at the University of Vienna.
She is Co-chair
Julia Sachseder is a post-doctoral fellow at the Departments of International Relations and Gender Studies at the Central European University. She is also an affiliated postdoctoral researcher at the Austrian Institute of International Affairs and lecturer at the Department of Political Science at the University of Vienna.
She is Co-chair of the Local Perspectives on PMSCs Working Group for the Women Peace and Private Security Research Network.
Julia is part of an Austrian Science Fund project ‘Risky Borders. Gender and Race in EU Border Security’ investigating epistemologies of risk, gender, race and border (in)security.
Her research interests primarily involve the political economy and (post-)coloniality of (border) security, migration, violence and gender as well as private, non-state and corporate actors in peace and conflict.
Darja Schildknecht
Darja Schildknecht
Darja Schildknecht
Darja Schildknecht is a Board Member of Women in International Security (WIIS) Switzerland and a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Basel and part of the Gender, War and Security Research Group.
Her research critically engages with the agenda of ‘Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism’ and analyses the gendered strategies used
Darja Schildknecht is a Board Member of Women in International Security (WIIS) Switzerland and a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Basel and part of the Gender, War and Security Research Group.
Her research critically engages with the agenda of ‘Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism’ and analyses the gendered strategies used by security actors along the public-private continuum, focusing on the tensions between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ security strategies. She has worked in various fields, including research, peacekeeping and politics.
Andrea Schneiker
Darja Schildknecht
Saskia Stachowitsch
Professor Andrea Schneiker is a Professor of Global Governance at Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen (Germany).
Previously she worked as an Assistant Professor at the Leibniz University of Hannover and the University of Bremen and as Junior Professor of Political Science at the University of Siegen.
Andrea is a convenor of the Women P
Professor Andrea Schneiker is a Professor of Global Governance at Zeppelin University in Friedrichshafen (Germany).
Previously she worked as an Assistant Professor at the Leibniz University of Hannover and the University of Bremen and as Junior Professor of Political Science at the University of Siegen.
Andrea is a convenor of the Women Peace and Private Security Research Network. She is also the Chair of the Special Working Group on Regulations and Policy.
She has published widely on issues related to private security, and UN Security Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security.
Saskia Stachowitsch
Darja Schildknecht
Saskia Stachowitsch
Dr Saskia Stachowitsch is an Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Senior Research Fellow and Senior Visiting Researcher at the Central European University as well as Principal Investigator of the FWF project ‘Risky Borders. Gender and Race in EU Border Security’.
She is Co-Director of the Women, Peace and Private Security Research Network, and Co-C
Dr Saskia Stachowitsch is an Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Senior Research Fellow and Senior Visiting Researcher at the Central European University as well as Principal Investigator of the FWF project ‘Risky Borders. Gender and Race in EU Border Security’.
She is Co-Director of the Women, Peace and Private Security Research Network, and Co-Chair of the working group on States as Clients and Regulators of PMSCs.
She is also the Scientific Director of the Austrian Institute of International Affairs (OIIP) and is a convenor for the Women Peace and Private Security Research Network.
Prior to these positions, she was Professor of International Politics at the University of Vienna, Affiliated Scholar at the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, and Visiting Post-doctoral Fellow at the School of Sociology, Politics and International Studies at the University of Bristol.
Lisa Vandehei
Lisa Vandehei
Lisa Vandehei
Lisa Vandehei is Executive Director of the Directorate of Gender Equality and Intersectional Analysis in the Department of National Defence, Canada. Accountable to the Deputy Minister and Chief of Defence Staff, Lisa leads the Defence Team in the development, implementation and monitoring of strategic plans for integrating gender and div
Lisa Vandehei is Executive Director of the Directorate of Gender Equality and Intersectional Analysis in the Department of National Defence, Canada. Accountable to the Deputy Minister and Chief of Defence Staff, Lisa leads the Defence Team in the development, implementation and monitoring of strategic plans for integrating gender and diversity perspectives.
She formerly served in the Canadian Armed Forces as a UN peacekeeper, basic recruit instructor and proud tradesperson.
Vandehei also worked for Global Affairs Canada, including as Deputy Director of the Afghanistan Program, developing the contribution to Canada’s strategic approach to support women, girls and boys for Canada’s Role in Afghanistan 2011 - 2014.