Norm Contestation and Convergence: The Case of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) and Preventing/Countering Violent Extremism (P/CVE) Agendas in Indonesia

Civil society organisations have played an important role in embedding gender-sensitive norms in key areas of peace and security policy in Indonesia. This thesis examines how these non-state actors advocated gender-sensitive approaches to Indonesia's Women, Peace and Security and Preventing/ Countering Violent Extremism frameworks. Employing a feminist constructivist approach, it argues that women-led organisations promote the diffusion and localisation of gender-sensitive security norms. Amid hegemonic masculine perspectives in security policy, this study shows how women-led CSOs came together to address the gendered dimensions of Indonesia's security policies. In response to the growing number of female and child terrorist actors in Indonesia after 2018, the collaboration among these CSOs promoted the integration of the P/CVE policy framework within the WPS agenda. This thesis reveals how normative convergence and contestation can lead to transformative national and local policy outcomes.