HomeAbstract of 8th-womensconfGendered Governance in Fragile States: The NCLW and the Localization of the WPS Agenda in Lebanon

Gendered Governance in Fragile States: The NCLW and the Localization of the WPS Agenda in Lebanon

  • Mar 26, 2026
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Abstract Book of the 8th Global Conference on Women's Studies

Year: 2026

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Gendered Governance in Fragile States: The NCLW and the Localization of the WPS Agenda in Lebanon

Angela Kahil

ABSTRACT:

This paper examines the implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in Lebanon with a focus on the National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW) as a central governance actor. Since the adoption of Lebanon’s first National Action Plan (NAP 1325) in 2019, the NCLW has emerged as the primary institutional coordinator translating international WPS commitments into national policy frameworks. Through its mandate, the Commission operates at the intersection of state institutions, civil society, and international organizations, enabling a hybrid governance model that integrates gender perspectives into peacebuilding, security-sector reform, and crisis-response mechanisms.

The paper analyzes how the NCLW navigates Lebanon’s fragmented political context, sectarian power-sharing system, and chronic governance deficits to advance inclusive women’s issues—ranging from political participation and protection from gender-based violence to economic empowerment and conflict-sensitive programming. It argues that the NCLW’s role is both strategic and constrained: strategic in its ability to convene stakeholders, set national policy priorities, and institutionalize gender mainstreaming; constrained by limited resources, weak state capacity, and the volatility produced by overlapping crises including economic collapse, displacement dynamics, and border insecurities.

By assessing the NCLW’s governance approach and its efforts to localize the WPS agenda, the study highlights the opportunities and structural barriers shaping gender-responsive state agendas in Lebanon. It concludes that sustainable progress under the WPS agenda requires strengthening inter-ministerial coordination, ensuring political commitment across sectarian lines, and reinforcing the institutional autonomy and capacities of the NCLW as a key driver of inclusive and participatory policy-making.

Keywords: Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda; UNSCR 1325; National Commission for Lebanese Women (NCLW); gender governance; inclusive policymaking; state capacity