Navigating the Gender-Counterterrorism Nexus: Comparative Analysis of Policy Approaches Across Multilateral Institutions

This paper examines how various international multilateral organisations conceptualise and integrate gender into their counterterrorism (CT) and preventing and countering violent extremism (PCVE) policies. Drawing on policy documents from the African Union, ASEAN, the Council of Europe, the Global Counterterrorism Forum, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the League of Arab States, NATO, OSCE, and the UN, it highlights similarities, differences and tensions in their approaches. Through discourse analysis and a qualitative comparative approach, the study finds that consensus-based decision-making, region-specific sensitivities, and the influence of soft law norms frequently shape substantive engagement with gender issues. The paper is structured into three main sections. The first outlines the theoretical and methodological framework, detailing the use of discourse analysis and qualitative comparative analysis to investigate policy documents from the diverse set of organisations. The second section provides an in-depth discussion of each organisation’s approach, examining how institutional priorities, decision-making processes, international law, and regional contexts shape their engagement with gender in CT/PCVE. This section also highlights the unique challenges faced by each organisation, such as the African Union’s limited integration of gender into CT frameworks, ASEAN’s consensus-driven constraints, NATO’s instrumental framing of gender for operational effectiveness, and the United Nations’ dual role as a norm-setter and implementer. Despite varying institutional contexts, most organisations reveal limited diagnostic clarity, a recurring victim-perpetrator dichotomy, and a tendency to silo gender away from broader CT/PCVE strategies. The final section synthesises these findings, critically discussing the persistent gap between rhetorical commitments to gender equality and meaningful policy integration. It advocates for more coherent, evidence-based, and intersectional approaches to addressing gender within CT/PCVE policies. The paper concludes by emphasising the need for more diagnostic clarity, the dismantling of essentialist gender stereotypes, and the adoption of strategies that bridge the divide between gender and security agendas. By providing a comprehensive analysis of organisational approaches, this study contributes to ongoing debates about the inclusivity and impact of gender mainstreaming in international security policies.