This book provide a holistic analysis of the gendered nature of armed conflict and political violence, and a broader understanding of the complex, changing roles and power relations between women and men during such circumstances. Currently, armed conflict and political violence are predominantly viewed as 'male domains', perpetrated by men acting as soldiers, guerrillas, paramilitaries or peacemakers. The involvement of women has received far less attention, with a tendency to portray a simplistic division of roles between men as aggressors and women as victims, particularly of sexual abuse, Consequently the gendered causes, costs and consequences of violent conflicts have been, at best, under-represented and, most often, misrepresented. Through empirical case studies from different regions of the world, this book aims to address four key issues: women and men as both actors and victims; the stages of conflicts as parts of a complex process with gendered implications; political, economic and social violence forming a continuum requiring gender analysis; and local community organisations run and managed by women, playing a key role throughout conflict situations in providing basic needs and critical advocacy. About The Author Caroline O. N. Moser, a social anthropologist and social policy specialist, is a Research Fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, London. Her publications include, Gender Planning and Development: Theory, Practice and Training, and with Cathy McIlwain, Urban Poor Perceptions of violence and Exclusion in Colombia and Violence in a Post-Conflict Context: Urban Poor Perceptions from Gautemala. Fiona C. Clark is an independent researcher. She collaborated with Caroline Moser on the World Bank's Urban Peace Program where she was responsible for the conference on Gender, Armed Conflict and Political Violence.