Affect and its instrumentality in the discourse of protection

This article engages theories of affect to explore the instrumentality and power of emotions in policy spaces, specifically the United Nations Security Council’s Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. The concept of affect is applied to an analysis of the pillar of “protection,” exploring the role of discourse and emotions in the narrative creation of the “vulnerable and violated other woman.” This article analyzes speeches made by Hillary Clinton, United States Secretary of State and WPS ambassador, leading up to the passing of the second landmark United Nations Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) on conflict-related sexual violence, UNSCR 1888 (2009), in order to explore the power of emotions in WPS. It is argued that the racialized and gendered narrative of vulnerability used by Clinton enacts sympathy and pity, and that this affect is produced through a colonial history and continues to reproduce inequality and hierarchy.