Inclusive security, lasting peace: an interview with Ambassador Swanee Hunt.

• Position: Interview

As U.S. Ambassador to Austria from 1993 to 1997, Swanee Hunt played an important role in U.S. foreign policy toward the Balkans during the Bosnian War. During and after her tenure as ambassador, Hunt made multiple trips throughout Eastern Europe and became a specialist in the role of women in post-communist Europe. It was in the Balkans where she realized that women were absent from the negotiating table. As a result, Hunt founded the Washington, DC-based Institute for Inclusive Security in 1999, which conducts research, training, and advocacy to integrate women into peace processes. In total, the organization has trained more than 2,000 women peacebuilders from countries in conflict, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Congo, Sudan, Colombia, and Sri Lanka, among others. Ambassador Hunt spoke with the Journal about the unique contributions of women to peace. (1)

Journal of International Affairs: You founded the Institute for Inclusive Security. Can you discuss your philosophy and what is meant by "inclusive security"?

Swanee Hunt: When people think of security, they assume bombs and bullets. When building peace, we need more than warlords coming together, putting their guns under the table, and deciding, "You take the diamonds; I will take the oil." We need an inclusive approach, including all stakeholders in society at the table. That always includes women as a large group. At the Institute for Inclusive Security, we are focusing specifically on women, but there are also tribal and other minority groups who should have a say.

Journal: In conflict situations, many humanitarian organizations and governments recognize that women play critical roles both during and after conflict. You spent a large part of your career working to advance the role of women in peace processes, and as U.S. Ambassador to Austria, you were involved in negotiations and issues related to the Balkan states and the war in Bosnia. Could you share some of your insights on working with women in Bosnia, and how they contributed to the peace process?

Hunt: While and after serving as a policymaker during the war and making twenty-five trips to Bosnia, I wrote two books: This Was Not Our War: Bosnian Women Reclaiming the Peace and Worlds Apart: Bosnian Lessons for Global Security. Women in Bosnia were not at the negotiating table because no one thought to include them. In 1994, one year before the Dayton Accords, we brought together Bosniaks and Croats, two of the three warring parties. We had fourteen days of peace talks. The negotiating teams met in my residence for dinners, they were in my office or down the hall, and it was not until we...