Research
Current and Recent Research
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Human Development, Economic Empowerment, and Discourses of Women's Security
book manuscript in progress
This project dissects the UN Security Council's Women, Peace, and Security agenda's implementation in three francophone West African countries: Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Mali. I demonstrate that the agenda's implementation is shaped by a number of factors, in particular a tension between "security," "peacebuilding," and "development" projects for women, not only in rhetoric but also in the programs designed to implement the agenda. Further tensions arise in the conflicting priorities of local women's organizations, national governments, and the international and transnational policy communities. The effects of these tensions are revealed through interviews with local NGO, government, and United Nations representatives as well as participant observation over nearly two years in West Africa. With insights from African feminism, my findings call into question the assumptions about women's roles in international security policies and the interrelation of actors in policy implementation.
Gender and Political Conflict
textbook proposal under review
Gender and Political Conflict is a mid to upper-level undergraduate or early master’s-level textbook that covers how gender matters in violent political conflicts, especially wars. The book describes the actors and activities in violent conflict, the effects of conflict, and through to peacebuilding and recovery. A central theme of the book is understanding everyday experiences and lives of people within conflict, but also acknowledging that violence is a continuum and that gender-based violence does not begin with gunshots or a declaration of war, nor does it end with a peace treaty. The book also takes a wide lens on gender, incorporating studies of masculinities and queer theory as well as studies of women in conflict. It is intended for programs in political science, international relations, and peace and conflict studies. In each of the twelve chapters of this book, insights from feminist international relations theory reveal how gender is embedded in the practice of political conflict.
Women, Peace, and Security
Norman, Kelsey, and Carrie Reiling. 2024. "The 'Inherent Vulnerability' of Women on the Move: A Gendered Analysis of Morocco's Migration Reform." Journal of Refugee Studies. 10.1093/jrs/feae044
Reiling, Carrie. 2024. "How West African Women 'Save' the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda." In Who Gives to Whom? Reframing Africa in the Humanitarian Imaginary, Cilas Kemedjio and Cecelia Lynch, eds. Palgrave Macmillan Press. 10.1007/978-3-031-46553-6_7
Reiling, Carrie. 2017. "Pragmatic Scepticism in Implementing the Women, Peace, and Security Agenda." Global Affairs 3(4–5): 469–481. 10.1080/23340460.2017.1440803
Reiling, Carrie. Revise and resubmit. "Does Gender Inclusion Equal Security Sector Reform? Implementing UNSCR 1325 in Côte dʼIvoire"
Feminist and Interpretive Methodologies
Schwarz, Tanya, and Carrie Reiling. 2024. "Preparing an Interpretive Research Design." In Doing Good Qualitative Research, Jen Cyr and Sara Goodman, eds. Oxford University Press.
Reiling, Carrie. 2020. "The Planning and Practice of Feminist Fieldwork Methodologies in Conflict and Post-Conflict Contexts." In SAGE Research Methods Cases. SAGE Publications Ltd. 10.4135/9781529722727
Women's Environmental Activism
I am developing several distinct but related projects around women's environmental activism. The first is a theoretical study using feminist political ecology to understand women's perspectives on peace in West Africa. The second is a collaborative effort exploring the incorporation of women into multilevel governance efforts in coastal and rural Guinea. The third is establishing a genealogy of women's environmental work in Guinea and Senegal. Altogether, these projects advance a theory of how the environment, similar to women’s issues, is simultaneously important and yet not central to the production and practices of international relations.
I further bring this expertise to Maryland's Eastern Shore, where I work with the Center for Environment and Society at Washington College on a collaborative project to strengthen equity and resilience through community-engaged research and education.
Public Scholarship
My Generation – WCTR Radio, 3 October 2021
How West African women reclaim international discourses – The Gender and War Project, 17 January 2019
On Geographies, Borders, and Seams of Expertise – Progress in Political Economy, 30 October 2017
Track Changes: Countering a Limited Perspective on Mental Illness – The Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa Blog, 4 April 2016
6 things you need to know about Côte d'Ivoire in the wake of Sunday's attack – with Justine Davis, Monkey Cage blog, The Washington Post, 15 March 2016
Local Reclamation of Transnational Activism: Bettering Advocacy in Conflict – The Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa Blog, 16 December 2015
Track Changes: Reports of Sexual Abuse by Peacekeepers Meets "Romantic Rights" – with Jolene McCall, The Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa Blog, 12 August 2015
The Cure-all of Online Organizing – The Critical Investigations into Humanitarianism in Africa Blog, 23 March 2015
Jubilee 2000: Churches on the Frontlines – Foreign Service Journal, January 2001