In April, one of our PhD candidates, Alexandra Richardson, had the opportunity to present her PhD research abroad, thanks to the support of the Political Science Association of Ireland (PSAI). At two prestigious conferences in the USA, Alexandra shared insights from her paper titled 'Queering WPS: Critical Perspectives from UN Peacekeepers, Gender Advisors, and WPS Experts.'
Alexandra participated in the 2024 Notre Dame Graduate Peace Conference, hosted by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame in Indiana, and the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution Graduate Research Symposium 2024 Program, at Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia.
These conferences provided an opportunity for Alexandra to expand on her research examining the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda. Her work delves into the UN's understanding of gender and gender equality within this policy framework, exploring how the UN addresses individuals with diverse sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGIE) in WPS concepts, policies, and practices. Alexandra is supervised by Prof. Gillian Wylie.