Among policymakers, it is commonly recognized that the ways in which a conflict intervention will affect local populations must be taken into account if an intervention is to be conducive to sustainable peaceful development. The primary aim of this project is to investigate the intended and unintended consequences of conflict interventions from a gender perspective.

The aim of the project is to chart the ethical issues raised by new trends in military intervention and to develop an innovative set of scholarly principles and methods in order to address them. Through an international collaboration between specialists in the fields of political science, philosophy, psychology, gender and ethnic studies, and history, it will unite empirical experience from the field with philosophical reflection on the reach and limitations of human rights and international law.

The project has chosen two areas in Northern Cape Province, South Africa for the research: The project will research farm owners and farm workers in these two areas. The project will emphasize a gendered research strategy, which includes an emphasis upon security of land tenure for women associated with the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people in extreme poverty.

In light of the recent developments in Europe and the Unites States in regard to assaults on human life, due to terrorism, war, global capitalism and human migration, there is a need to rethink the place of the gendered human body, freedom and democracy. Which forms of freedom are operationalized in these cultures and societies today. Working from different vantage points, all of the scholars involved with this project will approach these questions as they pertain to their particular disciplines, be it philosophy, literary studies, media studies, social sciences or gender studies.