Abstract
This article examines the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda within the armed forces of Italy and Sweden, two European countries characterised by distinct defence models and approaches to gender equality. Drawing on a multi-level, human-rights-based analytical framework and combining document analysis with semi-structured interviews, the study investigates how WPS principles, prevention, protection, participation, and relief and recovery, are translated into military structures, cultures and practices. The analysis explores how the WPS Agenda has shaped women’s leadership and participation in both military institutions, revealing persistent gaps between formal commitments and operational realities. While Sweden has historically pursued a feminist and proactive integration of gender perspectives in defence and security policies, the recent rollback of its Feminist Foreign Policy highlights the fragility of such commitments even in progressive contexts. Italy, by contrast, continues to adopt a more reactive and externally driven approach, with WPS implementation often linked to peacekeeping deployments. Set against a rapidly evolving security environment marked by rising militarisation across Europe, the article argues that meaningful WPS implementation requires intersectional, rights-based and context-sensitive reforms capable of transforming military institutions beyond symbolic inclusion.
Keywords
Women Peace and Security (WPS) Gender and Military Institutions Human Rights and Security Militarisation Sustainable peace