This thesis explores the National Action Plans of Sweden and Austria concerning the UN adopted Resolution 1325 about Women, Peace and Security.
The increase of the number of women in the armed forces has for a long time been a prioritised topic for the Swedish Armed Forces. This thesis investigates how the Swedish and the Austrian NAPs are dealing with this question.
The NAPs are written with the purpose of making the implementation of Resolution 1325 easier and faster, in a national context. In this thesis, the parts concerning increasing the number of women in the armed forces and in peacekeeping operations are the ones investigated. A qualitative methodology is used in the thesis and a comparison is conducted between the National Action Plans to see what Sweden and Austria can learn from each other.
The results show that the Austrian National Action Plan does not consist of any particular part that concerns how to make more women work in the armed forces. However, there is a section concerning the importance of raising the number of women in peacekeeping operations. This section is within the Swedish National Action Plan as is the part which is concerned with having more women employed in the Swedish Armed Forces.
The Austrian National Action Plan would benefit if how to get a higher per cent of women in the armed forces was included. It is a prioritised topic in Austria, as well as in Sweden, to increase the number of women in the armed forces. This is also an issue that goes hand in hand with the implementation of Resolution 1325, which makes it an important element in the NAP.
Key words: Resolution 1325, National Action Plan, Sweden, Austria, Gender, Implementing Resolution 1325, Swedish Armed Forces, Austrian Armed Forces, Peacekeeping Operations, increasing women in armed forces.
2013.