Associate Professor Nicole George
Director, Research
Associate Professor
School of Political Science and International Studies
+61 7 334 69368
Researcher biography
Nicole's research focuses on the gendered politics of conflict and peacebuilding, violence, security and participation. She has a strong interest in feminist institutional theory, as well as conceptual debates on regulatory pluralism and contested notions of (gendered) order as they are evident in local and global politics. Since the early 2000s, she has conducted research in the Pacific Islands region focusing on gender politics, gendered security and post conflict transition in Fiji, New Caledonia, Bougainville and Solomon Islands. She has worked in collaboration with women's organisations, women decision-makers and women policy-makers in these settings to progress aspects of this work. She has led large, externally funded, comparative research projects examining how women's rights to security are institutionalised in Pacific Island countries (2013-2016) and where and how women participate in post-conflict transformation (as part of a broader collaborative ARC Linkage Project (2016-2020). Aside from the scholarly publications listed below, she has made influential contributions to national and regional intergovernmental policy forums on gender, security and development programs and is a regular contributor to national and regional on-line opinion editorial sites.
Publications
Book
George, Nicole (2012). Situating women: gender politics and circumstance in Fiji. Canberra ACT, Australia: ANU Press. doi: 10.22459/sw.11.2012
Book Chapters
George, Nicole (2020). Women in politics: Pacific Islands and New Zealand. Women, policy and political leadership: regional perspectives. (pp. 141-158) edited by Christian Echle and Megha Sarmah. Singapore: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung.
George, Nicole (2020). The price of peace?: Frictional encounters on gender, security and the ‘Economic Peace Paradigm’. New directions in women, peace and security. (pp. 41-60) edited by Soumita Basu, Paul Kirby and Laura J. Shepherd. Bristol, United Kingdom: Bristol University Press. doi: 10.2307/j.ctv12sdx3t.9
George, Nicole (2020). Gender and post-conflict security sector reform: experiences from Bougainville and Solomon Islands. Mapping security in the Pacific: a focus on context, gender and organisational culture. (pp. 104-118) edited by Sara N. Amin, Danielle Watson and Christian Girard. Abingdon, Oxon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429031816-11
George, Nicole, Koo, Katrina Lee and Shepherd, Laura J. (2019). Gender and the UN’s women, peace and security agenda. Routledge handbook of gender and security. (pp. 311-322) edited by Caron E. Gentry, Laura J. Shepherd and Laura Sjoberg. London, United Kingdom: Routledge.
George, Nicole (2019). Climate change and ‘architectures of entitlement’: beyond gendered virtue and vulnerability in the Pacific Islands?. Climate hazards, disasters, and gender ramifications. (pp. 101-121) edited by Catarina Kinnvall and Helle Rydstrom. London, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429424861-6
George, Nicole (2018). WPS and women’s roles in conflict-prevention: the case of Bougainville. The Oxford Handbook of Women, Peace, and Security. (pp. 475-488) edited by Sara E. Davies and Jacqui True. New York, NY, United States: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oxfordhb/9780190638276.013.64
George, Nicole (2018). Hybridity and regulatory authority in Fiji: vernacular perspectives on gender and security. Hybridity on the ground in peacebuilding and development: critical conversations. (pp. 253-269) edited by Joanne Wallis, Lia Kent, Miranda Forsyth, Sinclair Dinnen and Srinjoy Bose. Acton, ACT, Australia: ANU Press. doi: 10.22459/hgpd.03.2018.15
George, Nicole (2018). Global women's movement. The international encyclopedia of anthropology. (pp. 1-8) Oxford, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea2220
George, Nicole (2018). Postcolonial theory and feminism. The international encyclopedia of anthropology. (pp. 1-6) edited by Hilary Callan. Oxford, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons. doi: 10.1002/9781118924396.wbiea2341
George, Nicole (2016). 'Lost in Translation': gender violence, human rights and women's capabilities in Fiji. Gender violence and human rights: seeking justice in Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu. (pp. 81-125) edited by Aletta Biersack, Margaret Jolly and Martha Macintyre. Canberra, Australia: ANU Press. doi: 10.22459/gvhr.12.2016.02
George, Nicole and Doerksen, Chantelle (2016). Gender and peacebuilding: hybridity and friction in the Pacific Islands. Practical approaches to peacebuilding: putting theory to work. (pp. 81-108) edited by Pamina Firchow and Harry Anastasiou. Boulder, CO, United States: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
George, Nicole (2015). Women in politics: Pacific Islands and New Zealand. Women, policy and political leadership: regional perspectives in today's world. (pp. 79-86) Singapore, Singapore: Konrad-Adenauer Stiftung.
George, Nicole (2014). Gender in the Pacific Islands. The Globalization of World Politics: Case Studies from Australia, New Zealand and the Asia Pacific. (pp. 59-62) edited by Charles Hawkesly and Nichole Georgiou. South Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Oxford University Press.
George, Nicole (2014). In sickness and in health: evolving trends in gay rights advocacy in Fiji. Gender on the edge: transgender, gay and other Pacific Islanders. (pp. 293-322) edited by Niko Besnier and Kalissa Alexeyeff. Honolulu, United States: University of Hawaiʻi Press.
George, Nicole (2013). Beyond cultural constraint: gender, security and participation in the Pacific Islands. Responsibility to Protect and Women, Peace and Security: Aligning the Protection Agendas. (pp. 155-180) edited by Sara E. Davies, Zim Nworka, Eli Stamnes and Sarah Teitt. Leiden, Holland: Martinus Nijhof Publishers.
George, Nicole (2009). Shifting Terrains of Transnational Engagement: Women's Organizing in Fiji. Gender and Global Politics in the Asia-Pacific. (pp. 175-193) edited by D'Costa, Bina and Lee-Koo, Katrina. United States: Palgrave Macmillan. doi: 10.1057/9780230617742
George, Nicole (2006). Coup spells more trouble for long suffering Fijians. Capturing the year 2007: Writings from the ANU College of Asia and the Pacific. (pp. 180-183) edited by Barbara Nelson and Robin Jeffrey. Canberra, ACT, Australia: ANU College of Asia and the Pacific.
George, Nicole (2002). French monopoly of the linguistic marketplace. Perspectives on Europe: Language Issues and Lanaguage Planning in Europe. (pp. 61-79) edited by Anthony J. Liddicoat and Karis Muller. Melbourne: Language Australia.
Journal Articles
George, Nicole (2024). “Our cry as women leaders”: crisis response intervention, customary governance, and the masculinization of peace in Solomon Islands. Pacific Affairs. doi: 10.5509/2024974-art6
Brigg, Morgan, George, Nicole and Higgins, Kate (2022). Making space for Indigenous approaches in the Southwest Pacific? The spatial politics of peace scholarship and practice. Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding, 16 (5), 545-562. doi: 10.1080/17502977.2022.2139908
Bull, Melissa and George, Nicole (2021). Policing gender violence in Vanuatu. International Journal for Crime, Justice and Social Democracy, 10 (4), 239-261. doi: 10.5204/ijcjsd.1768
Brigg, Morgan and George, Nicole (2020). Emplacing the spatial turn in peace and conflict studies. Cooperation and Conflict, 55 (4), 409-420. doi: 10.1177/0010836720954488
George, Nicole (2020). Conflict transition, emplaced identity and the gendered politics of scale in Solomon Islands. Cooperation and Conflict, 55 (4), 518-534. doi: 10.1177/0010836720954476
George, Nicole and Soaki, Pauline (2020). “Our struggle, our cry, our sweat”: challenging the gendered logics of participation and conflict transition in Solomon Islands. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 22 (4), 572-593. doi: 10.1080/14616742.2020.1798798
George, Nicole (2019). Gender, security and Australia’s 2018 Pacific Pivot: stalled impetus and shallow roots. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 73 (3), 1-6. doi: 10.1080/10357718.2019.1584155
George, Nicole (2018). Liberal–local peacebuilding in Solomon Islands and Bougainville: advancing a gender-just peace?. International Affairs, 94 (6), 1329-1348. doi: 10.1093/ia/iiy193
George, Nicole and Kent, Lia (2017). Sexual violence and hybrid peacebuilding: how does silence speak?. Third World Thematics, 2 (4), 518-537. doi: 10.1080/23802014.2017.1395710
Bull, Melissa, George, Nicole and Curth-Bibb, Jodie (2017). The virtues of strangers: policing gender violence in Pacific Island countries. Policing and Society, 29 (2), 1-16. doi: 10.1080/10439463.2017.1311894
George, Nicole (2017). Policing "conjugal order": gender, hybridity and vernacular security in Fiji. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 19 (1), 55-70. doi: 10.1080/14616742.2017.1283248
Davies, Sara E., George, Nicole and True, Jacqui (2017). The difference gender makes to international peace and security. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 19 (1), 1-3. doi: 10.1080/14616742.2017.1279904
George, Nicole (2016). Institutionalising women, peace and security in the Pacific Islands: Gendering the ‘architecture of entitlements’?. International Political Science Review, 37 (3), 375-389. doi: 10.1177/0192512116629819
George, Nicole and Shepherd, Laura (2016). Women, peace and security: Exploring the implementation and integration of UNSCR 1325. International Political Science Review, 37 (3), 297-306. doi: 10.1177/0192512116636659
George, Nicole (2016). Light, Heat and Shadows: Women's Reflections on Peacebuilding in Bougainville. Peacebuilding, 4 (2), 166-179. doi: 10.1080/21647259.2016.1192241
George, Nicole and Stark, Alastair (2015). Community resilience and crisis management: policy lessons from the ground. Policy and Politics, 44 (4), 591-607. doi: 10.1332/030557315X14351420409945
George, Nicole (2015). 'Starting with a prayer': women faith and security in Fiji. Oceania, 85 (1), 119-131. doi: 10.1002/ocea.5078
George, Nicole (2014). Promoting women, peace and security in the Pacific Islands: hot conflict/slow violence. Australian Journal of International Affairs, 68 (3), 314-332. doi: 10.1080/10357718.2014.902032
George, Nicole (2013). 'It was a town of friendship and mud': 'flood talk', community and resilience. Australian Journal of Communication, 40 (1), 41-56.
George, Nicole (2011). Jacqueline Leckie (ed.), "Development in an Insecure and Gendered World: The Relevance of the Millennium Goals". Australian Journal of Political Science, 46 (1), 187-188. doi: 10.1080/10361146.2011.546322
George, Nicole (2011). Pacific women building peace: A regional perspective. The Contemporary Pacific, 23 (1), 37-72. doi: 10.1353/cp.2011.0001
George, Nicole (2010). "Just like your mother?" The politics of feminism and maternity in the Pacific Islands. The Australian Feminist Law Journal, 32 (1), 77-96. doi: 10.1080/13200968.2010.10854438
George, Nicole (2010). Women's Human Rights: Seeking Gender Justice in a Globalising Age. Australian Journal of Political Science, 45 (4), 732-734. doi: 10.1080/10361146.2010.517185
George, N. (2009). 'Situating' active citizenship: historical and contemporary perspectives of women's organising in the Pacific. Development in Practice, 19 (8), 981-996. doi: 10.1080/09614520903220826
George, Nicole (2008). Contending masculinities and the limits of tolerance: Sexual minorities in Fiji. Contemporary Pacific, 20 (1), 163-189.
George, Nicole (2002). Women's re-visions of globalisation:'Level playing field' or 'Uphill battle'?. International Feminist Journal of Politics, 4 (2), 268-277. doi: 10.1080/14616740210132011
Newspaper Articles
George, Nicole (2024, 11 01). An all-male Pacific peace mission to New Caledonia excludes women’s voices in the crisis Lowy Interpreter
George, Nicole (2024, 05 20). Is it time for Australia to reassess its position on France’s role in New Caledonia? The Conversation
George, Nicole (2024, 05 16). Why is New Caledonia on fire? According to local women, the deadly riots are about more than voting rights The Conversation
George, Nicole (2022, 03 01). Want to help people affected by floods? Here's what to do - and what not to The Conversation
George, Nicole (2021, 11 30). Solomon Islands deployment: Australia must meet obligations to women Lowy Interpreter
George, Nicole (2019, 07 18). Karida village killlings: violence and vulnerability of women Lowy Interpreter
George, Nicole (2018, 11 12). Meaningful participation: women and peacebuilding in the Pacific Lowy Interpreter
George, Nicole (2018, 03 22). The Challenges to women on Bougainville Lowy Interpreter
George, Nicole (2017, 05 23). “Men have no idea what we go through”: ending violence against women in the Pacific Islands 50-50 Open Democracy
George, Nicole (2015, 01 28). "La Haine": A window on the Charlie Hebdo Attacks Lowy Interpreter
Research Reports
George, Nicole (2024). Making the "invisible" visible: women and the anti-nuclear resistance in the Pacific Islands. Nuclear Disarmament and the Anthropocene: Voices from Pacific Island Countries Seoul: Asia-Pacific Leadership Network.
George, Nicole (2018). Bougainville, Papua New Guinea: gender and participation in the wake of a partially "gendered" peace agreement. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Monash University.
George, Nicole (2018). Solomon Islands: a situational analsyis of women's participation in peace processes. Melbourne, VIC, Australia: Monash University.
True, Jacqui, Niner, Sara, Parashar, Swati and George, Nicole (2012). Women’s political participation in Asia and the Pacific: report for United Nations Department of Political Affairs. West Brooklyn, NY, United States: SSRC (Social Science Research Council).