War and Peace and Women

This book is concerned with women’s responses to war and conflict as forms of “political activism.” The authors explore the “how” and the “why” of such activism but also, importantly, the “so what” question in response to such activism, or more exactly why should we care! The answer, as is too often the case, is that research on the role of “women” in war, conflict, and peace building has been neglected in mainstream literature, and when it has been considered it has often been treated as a secondary phenomenon rather than as a central feature of any analysis (Grayzel 1999; Rooney 2000; Stapleton and Wilson 2014). As the authors state, “Mainstream IR [International Relations] theories tend to omit women and gender from their analysis of war and peace” (see also Yuval-Davis 1997; Ashe 2007). The book claims to focus particularly on women’s motivations for their political activism and also the discourse surrounding such activism. The range of motivations is well covered and carefully considered, although I think the term “discourse” is being used in its most general sense because there is certainly little of what we might call a “technical discourse analysis” of any of the materials, or examples within the text (for a recent example where a technical analysis is central, see Wilson and Boxer, forthcoming). This is not a problem, however, and does not interfere with the main thesis of reviewing women’s involvement in political activism. But it is important to note this point here as the term “discourse” may be used in various ways in different texts and different disciplines, and for those wanting a focus on the linguistic, for example, this might not be the place. In terms of the book’s aims however, it is enough to see “discourse” here as the individual and collective voices—literally and metaphorically—of women, particularly their stories, which explain and underpin their involvement and actions. Those gendered voices often silent, or silenced, are given space in this text to express their feelings and experiences, and those feelings and experiences once expressed can be seen as an integral part of understanding the complex nature of war, conflict, and peace

International relations · Mainstream · Media studies · Political science · Politics · Sociology · State (computer science · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Historical Gender and Feminism Studies · Gender Studies · Law

• Women in Northern Irish Politics

  Open Access•Eilish Rooney•Gender, Democracy and Inclusion…•2000

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• Female Terrorism and Militancy

  Cindy D Ness•Female Terrorism and Militancy•2007

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• Conforming to Masculine Norms

  Open Access•Andrew P Smiler•Sex Roles•2006

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• Gender, Democracy and Inclusion in Northern Ireland

  Open Access•Carmel Roulston, Celia Davies•Gender, Democracy and Inclusion…•2000

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• Gendering ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland

  Fidelma Ashe•Ethnic and Racial Studies•2007

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• Conflicting categories? Women, conflict and identity in Northern Ireland

  K Stapleton, John Wilson•Ethnic and Racial Studies•2014

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