Study title

Qualitative dataset consisting of interview transcripts, including individual key informant interviews and group interviews conducted in the six regions of Somaliland. The project aimed to develop a gender-aware analysis of the political settlement in Somaliland, before exploring ways in which policy and interventions could contribute to more effective and equitable development and increased stability as well as increasing women's political participation. This included an analysis of how gender identities are perceived, and how they influence socio-political participation and VAWG and how this has contributed to, or undermined a stable, inclusive post-conflict political settlement. That gender-aware analysis will then be used to examine how specific development interventions have interacted with and influenced the settlement, and to assess measures that might improve their effectiveness. It focused specifically on institutions, as politics and the overall political settlement cannot be separated from the performance and functioning of institutions, which are also gendered. By basing politics at the core of institutional power analysis, the political settlement lens offers the potential for a more nuanced view of institutional arrangements, thus permitting better-informed choices between different types of development interventions.Recent research recognises the importance of political settlements -ongoing, adaptable political processes- in determining the equitability of development and the level of stability in societies. However, little research on political settlements analyses the different roles that women and men play in determining a given settlement. Political settlements themselves frequently and systemically exclude women, despite the fact that they are the majority in post-conflict situations, and high levels of gender inequality and violence against women and girls (VAWG) make local instability more likely. It is thus critical that policy makers...