Gender and International Relations

As feministtheory and genderstudiescontinueto assert themselves (IR) Relations has of the the throughout academy, discipline International inquiry.

mayseem This to to beenoneof thelastbastions succumb feminist is as Relations a discipline itselfnew. Estabsince surprising International to in lishedin the 1940s in the US as a policyscience response the First the during ColdWar was the Wars, discipline developed World andSecond various theorycomprises Relations International period. Furthermore, by theorywhichhavebeeninterrogated feminist of aspects socialscience to has Relations only beensubject feminist ThatInternational theorists. nd maledominance sincethe late 1980s atteststo the extreme inquiry biasin the field.Dating fromthe 1988London School Economics of conference Gender on and International Relations,the theoreticalwalls of International Relations havebecome morepermeable.

thegrowing With recognition of the linksbetween globaleconomic forcesand gender(Senand Grown, 1987),andthemomentum nearly of twenty years feminist of incursion in othersocialsciencefields,in the pastten Srears fieldof Gender the and International Relations, feminist or International Relations, grown has and gained legitimacy.Onemightargue international that feminism thepredecessor Feminis of ist International Relations although literature thisfieldhasnot so the in far acknowledged Priorto the firstUnitedNationsConference it. on Women,held in Mexico City in 1975, international processesand women's liveswerenot linkedat fundamental systemic levels. A number of UN resolutions werepassed whichpertained women. to Theserelated to consent marriage, of equalremuneration menandwomen, for women's politicalrightssand women'seducation. Two main factorshave since brought aboutthe shiftto a deeper understanding womenandgender of in international relations processes.

First,from197S onwards, feminist inquiryhas gainedlegitimacy the academy. in Second,EsterBoserup's workon womenand international development (1970)preclpitated the fieldof Women Development, globalmovement in a whichwas largely concerned theeffectsof international with development interventions on women's lives. Gradually 'Feminist International Relations' carved own pathandso its far has soughtto interrogate International Relations froma feminist or gender perspective, whileinternational feminism lookedat women's has andgender issuesfroma globalperspective.Thesetwo fields not separe arateandapart, rather parallel andin tandem eachother, but run to with withregular 'cross-fertilization' onefieldto theother. 1 from Twoprincipal trends havebeenfollowed farin Feminist thus International Relations. firstbrings lightgender The to issues wellas women's as issues in foreign international and policy; second the exposes gendered the nature of mainstream International Relations theory practice.

and Writers both in areaspointtO theabsence women's of experiences theconsideration in of issuessuchas security peace.Thisprocess inquiry beenconand of has ceptualized a new feminist as epistemology whichgender in becomes a primeelement understanding in International Relations theory pracand tice (Grant Newland, and 1991). In deconstructing International Relatlons theory, feminist analysts argue that the theoretical foundations International of Relationsare maledefined,and are constructed aroundmale-female dichotomies which 21; definefemaleas 'other'and assigngender-specific whichexclude roles womenfromthe publicsphere. Ann Tickner J. 1991), Rebecca Grant (1991)andChristine Sylvester (1994)argue that,although largely ignored, theseissuesshapeandareshaped international by forces.

Usinga 'gender lens',thesewriters havebroken downthe discipline its largely into social sciencecomponents, havethen reconstructed with a feminist and them understanding the discipline International of of Relations.Theyhavediscovered whether that separate consolidated, or gender is entrenched bias in thecomponents thisdiscipline threeinterconnected of in ways. First,International Relations theorydepends beliefsabouthow indion viduals behavein society and in the state. FollowingHobbes' and Rousseau's approach, statesareperceived be anarchical bellicose to and andconcerned withtheirownsurvival. only Individual behaviour, accordingto realist theory, personifies behaviour is stereotypically state and masculine.

Thefemalegender omitted, the masculine is and gender, whichis constructed female on subordination, the standard norm. is and mz 3 °2 Second,the conceptof the state, a fundamental tenet of International Relations theory, also heavily is gendered.Greek Athenian The or stateis considered modelfor the Western the democratic state. Rebecca Grant (1991)reminds thatthe formation the ancient us of Grecian statewas a patriarchal endeavour subordinate to women's labourwithinthe family, whichwouldthenallowthe stateto concentrate resources strengthenon ingits economic power. Thusthefoundations persistence thepatriand of archialstate itself rest on a gendered sexualdivisionof labourwhich l devalues domestic the sphere, thesametimeas it relegates at womeninto thesespheres.Third,as Grant pointsout, the gendered concept the stateof nature of the stateof naturebeingthe modelof the international arena- entirely excludes women,and,as Tickner maintains, constructed opposition is in to women.

Yetit is thisconceptwhichis considered basisof 'man's' the behaviour the international in arena. Consequently, feminist understandingsthestate,of warandof security, of differwidelyfromthe androcentric assumptions whichshapethesethree dominantmainstream International Relationsthemes.CynthiaEnloe (1989, 1993), Fred Halliday (1991), Rebecca Grant and Kathleen Newland(1991)andSandra Whitworth (1994)havesuggested areas new of inquiry. Halliday delineates threemainareas: gender-specific the conse quences international of processes, womenas actorson the international scene,andgender components foreign of policyissues.

Themes proposed bytheothers include issuesof gender migration in theinternational in and sexualdivision labour, impact gender of the on rolesandrelations the of ; 213 programmes multilateral of institutions, womenand dearelopment, and women's rights human as rights. In this articlewe look at feminist interpretations threemainInterof national Relations areas: international security, human rights, interand nationalpoliticaleconomy.The areaswere selectedbecauseof their centrality withinthe discourse because thegrowing and of bodyof work beinggenerated thesethemes. on Internatiorlal political economy, moreover, tremendous has significance theCaribbean, a reality in in where economicprocesses, particularly of globalcapitals those dictate nature the of structuresand institutions.

We also examirlethe contributions of Caribbean womento the feminist international agenda. onclusion The suggestsa research agendafor futurefeministwork in International Relations in the Caribbean (IR) context. Engenderinginternationalsecurity Thethemes conflict security attracted of and harre sustained scrutiny from feminist scholars because their of centrality IRtheory practice, to and and becauseof their particularly strongmasculine bias. Many,including Rebecca Grant, haveidentified national security structures theattenand dantwaysof thinking the sources muchof thegender in interas of bias nationalrelations theoryas a whole (Grant 1991).Sheargues that the initial gendered separation thepublic private of and spheres theorganizin ationof stateandsociety produced exclusively concept citizenan male of ship. Menweregiventhe military of defenders the state,thereby role of acquiring prierileged activestatusin nationallife.

Women a and were invisible, not haveaccessto the statemachinery did not particidid and patein national decision making. Domestic concerns played littlepartin shaping national 'the interest'. Marysia Zalewski (199S)andCynthia Enloe(1993)pointout theextent to which beliefsabout genderdifferences have been deliberately constructed thesecurity in sphere. deaof themasculinitrrwarandthe The of imageof themachosoldier harre reinforced patriarchal the order.

traThe ditionalexclusionof women from armedcombatwas a mechanism designed primarily protectthem,but to protectmaleprivileges not to (Zalewski, 199S). Beliefs myths and aboutmasculinity femininity and act on theirown, or areconsciously manipulated the authorities, the by in process escalating terminating of or armed conflict.The analytical of genderis a perspective lens whichhas attracted considerable interest during lastfiveyears a result thegender the as of dimensionsof contemporary communal violence of political, and economic and 1 in social changein the post-ColdWar world. Developments Eastern deep-seated the have underlined needto uncover and Europe elsewhere their and rolesandidentities, to investigate functions aboutgender beliefs has Recentresearch situations. post-conflict in conflictand immediate in War (i) themes: in manypost-Cold societies on focused threeimportant politicalforcesand the therehas beena rise of conservative transition, Statepolicies roleswithinthe family.

raditional of reassertion women's and employment fromaccessto activity, womenfrompolitical excluding docon are facilities beingjustified the basisof essentialist legalabortion in genderbiases and inequalities a new era trines that reintroduce in (Molyneux, Grantand Newland,1991; Zalewski,1995);(ii) in situthe between caught womenoftenfindthemselves ationsof ethnicconilict, policies rightsand pro-natalist reproductive defenceof theirindividual (Bracewell, of survival the community aimedat the ethnicand cultural 1996; YuvalDavis,1996);(iii) rapeand otherformsof sexualviolence in strategy thetwenof parts military integral womenhavebecome against conflicts,women'sstatus as in tieth century.Particularly communal for targeted iconscausesthemto be explicitly nationaland community 1996). (Seifert, suchformsof torture through demoralization moreholistic agreeon the needto provide generally IR Feminist scholars (1991, Ann to applicable all of humanity.Tickner of definitions security, (1994)all pointout Sylvester (1992)andChristine 1992),SpikePeterson and security of projects national state-centric between the contradictions Humanrightsabusesand militarythreatsare usually global security. and protection environmental by generated thenationstateitself. Effective of are management beyond the capabilities any one state.

Finally, economicsystemsare a fundanationaland international inequitable the However, feminist and mentalsourceof humaninsecurity suffering. viothe to goes beyondtheseobservations emphasize structural critique sysand inequalities pointout that'women's gender lencethatproduces of dimension state as is temicinsecurity an internal well as external 1992:32).Peterson, systems' by level,theseclaimsaresupported theworkof feminist On an empirical pictureof globalsecurity contrasting who researchers presenta starkly crimes sexual violence, on the Theyhavethrown spotlight domestic issues. in (NiCarthy, Ashworth,1995; Seifert,1996; and female infanticide and 1995). Theyhaveshownthat80 percentof allrefugees disZalewski, not who are persons womenandchildren arevulnerable onlyto the placed prostitution and but as insecurity refugees, also to sexualviolence forced 1996).

Criticsof this work have arguedthat (Longwe,199S;Agarwal, of consequences and are portrayals skewed ignorethe damaging feminist by espoused feminist for warfare men.Theyclaimthatthe methodology 215 thinkers does not adequately encompass masculine the genderand the human condition a whole(Jones, as 1996). None the less, feminist scholarship theseareashas had a noticeable in impact international on development humanitarian and policies proand grammes. Since1985, gender considerations beenincreasingly have integratedinto the designof refugee reliefprogrammes tAgeret a!. , l99S; Walker, 199S).

In the sphere environmental of security, womenarenow oftencastin the roleof environmental custodians managers and Following uponthe Bosnian conflict, rapeduring armed conflict beencatehas gorized theUnited by Nations a warcrime. s Finally, influence much the is evidentin the UnitedNations Development Programme's conceptof 'Human Security' whichincludes economic security, accessto food and healthservices, personal security, politicalsecurity participation and in community (UNDP life Human Development Reports, 1994, 199S).Feminist perspectives security made impression within on have an also the International Relations academy whereone of the chiefdebates within feminist theory- the Essentialist/Constructivist - rearsits head. debate Essentialists thatwomen, reasons biology soclalization, feel for of and are moreinclined towards connection co-operation. and Manyargue the that Realist security dilemma mightdisappear completely gender if roleswere differently distributed.

Women might interpret national the interest differently,be moresensitive the socialcosts of conRict use different to and approaches conflictmanagement to (Tickner, 1992, 199S). Socialconstructivists, the otherhand,dismisstheseclaims,arguing on that such stereotyping invalid mayparadoxically is and reinforce traditional identities and roles (Forcey, 1995). One of the mostpenetrating critiques of essentialist claims comesfromJeanBethke Elshtain, writes, who 'women as leaders . .

mothers . . andworkers . . havesustained supported and the warsof theirstatesin far greater numbers womenin anycapacity than haveactedin opposition warsandnationalistic to excess'