Rethinking Masculinities: Ideology, Identity and Change in the People’s War in Nepal and its Aftermath

Rethinking Masculinities: Ideology, Identity, and Change in the Peoples War in Nepal and Its Aftermath examines how the experience of participation in an armed group may impact on notions of masculinity held by low-ranking male combatants, exploring how men of the Peoples Liberation Army experienced and engaged with an ideology espoused by the leadership that was more gender-positive than what existed in broader Nepali society. It contributes to peace and conflict scholarship on insurgency, rebel recruitment, and demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR) by exposing how masculinity change is not straightforward but influenced by both past and present, leading to contradiction and continuity in a post-conflict context.

Format: Hardback
Length: 264 pages
Publication date: 14 February 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Masculinity associated with armed groups often relies on assumptions of violence and insecurity. However, Rethinking Masculinities: Ideology, Identity, and Change in the Peoples War in Nepal and Its Aftermath challenges these assumptions by examining how participation in an armed group can impact notions of masculinity among low-ranking male combatants. Using the case of Nepal, the book explores how men of the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) experienced and engaged with an ideology that was more gender-positive than what existed in broader Nepali society.

Focusing on masculinity change across four different time frames: pre-conflict, conflict time, the cantonment period, and post-conflict, Heidi Riley's analysis pays close attention to changes in attitudes towards gender-specific roles and conduct, as well as perceptions of gender hierarchies. Building on feminist and masculinities literature, Rethinking Masculinities also makes a vital contribution to broader peace and conflict scholarship on insurgency, rebel recruitment, and demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration (DDR).

The book exposes how masculinity change is not straightforward but influenced by both past and present, leading to contradiction and continuity in a post-conflict context. It highlights the importance of understanding the complex dynamics of masculinity and its impact on conflict and peacebuilding.

Weight: 594g
Dimension: 238 x 160 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781786615503