Melissa Johnston is a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. Her work applies a gender lens to examine the links between security and the political economy of development to better understand women's and men's experiences in conflict-affected environments. Her work on conflict, international financial institutions, and violent extremism in Southeast Asia has been published in journals such as Review of International Political Economy, Globalizations, and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. Her article, "Frontier Finance", won the 2021 Australian International Political Economy Network Prize. She is the recipient of the 2019 Australian Political Studies Association PhD Thesis Prize and the Prime Minister's Endeavour Award.

• Figures and tablesAssociations and Organizations Introduction 1. Critical Approaches to Peacebuilding and Gender 2. Class Formation, Slavery, and Militarization 3. Class, Gender, and the Distribution of State Resources 4. The Political Economy of Domestic Violence 5. Brideprice and the Exchange of Women 6. Microfinance Interventions 7. Gendered Circuits of Debt and Violence Conclusion AppendixGlossaryReferences

Melissa Johnston has penned what will surely be an instant classic in the fields of peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. Through careful fieldwork, Johnston shows that international peacebuilders in Timor-Leste, in some cases knowingly and in other cases ignorantly, carefully rebuilt and strengthened the systems of patriarchy. As a result, not only women, but the nation of Timor-Leste itself, are in a worse situation because of the international community's peacebuilding intervention. The 'local turn' in peacebuilding is revealed by Johnston as a deal with the devil of women's subordination, with all the negative consequences thereof for the whole society. It's time to ask who really gets what from international peacebuilding efforts. Highly recommended.

Melissa Johnston is a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. Her work applies a gender lens to examine the links between security and the political economy of development to better understand women's and men's experiences in conflict-affected environments. Her work on conflict, international financial institutions, and violent extremism in Southeast Asia has been published in journals such as Review of International Political Economy, Globalizations, and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. Her article, "Frontier Finance", won the 2021 Australian International Political Economy Network Prize. She is the recipient of the 2019 Australian Political Studies Association PhD Thesis Prize and the Prime Minister's Endeavour Award.

• Figures and tablesAssociations and Organizations Introduction 1. Critical Approaches to Peacebuilding and Gender 2. Class Formation, Slavery, and Militarization 3. Class, Gender, and the Distribution of State Resources 4. The Political Economy of Domestic Violence 5. Brideprice and the Exchange of Women 6. Microfinance Interventions 7. Gendered Circuits of Debt and Violence Conclusion AppendixGlossaryReferences

Melissa Johnston has penned what will surely be an instant classic in the fields of peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. Through careful fieldwork, Johnston shows that international peacebuilders in Timor-Leste, in some cases knowingly and in other cases ignorantly, carefully rebuilt and strengthened the systems of patriarchy. As a result, not only women, but the nation of Timor-Leste itself, are in a worse situation because of the international community's peacebuilding intervention. The 'local turn' in peacebuilding is revealed by Johnston as a deal with the devil of women's subordination, with all the negative consequences thereof for the whole society. It's time to ask who really gets what from international peacebuilding efforts. Highly recommended.

Melissa Johnston is a Lecturer in the School of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Queensland. Her work applies a gender lens to examine the links between security and the political economy of development to better understand women's and men's experiences in conflict-affected environments. Her work on conflict, international financial institutions, and violent extremism in Southeast Asia has been published in journals such as Review of International Political Economy, Globalizations, and Studies in Conflict and Terrorism. Her article, "Frontier Finance", won the 2021 Australian International Political Economy Network Prize. She is the recipient of the 2019 Australian Political Studies Association PhD Thesis Prize and the Prime Minister's Endeavour Award.

• Figures and tablesAssociations and Organizations Introduction 1. Critical Approaches to Peacebuilding and Gender 2. Class Formation, Slavery, and Militarization 3. Class, Gender, and the Distribution of State Resources 4. The Political Economy of Domestic Violence 5. Brideprice and the Exchange of Women 6. Microfinance Interventions 7. Gendered Circuits of Debt and Violence Conclusion AppendixGlossaryReferences

Melissa Johnston has penned what will surely be an instant classic in the fields of peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction. Through careful fieldwork, Johnston shows that international peacebuilders in Timor-Leste, in some cases knowingly and in other cases ignorantly, carefully rebuilt and strengthened the systems of patriarchy. As a result, not only women, but the nation of Timor-Leste itself, are in a worse situation because of the international community's peacebuilding intervention. The 'local turn' in peacebuilding is revealed by Johnston as a deal with the devil of women's subordination, with all the negative consequences thereof for the whole society. It's time to ask who really gets what from international peacebuilding efforts. Highly recommended.