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Gender, War and Militarism from a Feminist Perspective

Module description

This module employs feminist critiques of International Relations to introduce gender as a concept for examining war and military practices. Gender is employed both as a subject of study and as an analytical lens; and this twin approach allows us to raise different - and, possibly, more extensive - queries about the nature and the practices of war and war preparations. Please note that this module is not about military strategy or military history, but rather about developing knowledge and understanding that challenges and disrupts from a critical feminist perspective the logics of war, militarism and militarisation that permeate societies and international affairs in general.

As such, this module focuses on the gendered power relationships that embody and perpetuate violence and conflict at the local and global level. More crucially, the module challenges the function of war and the military in producing and preserving a range of military masculinities and femininities that are utilised to legitimise war, militarism and militarisation.

There are no pre-requisites for the module. It is suitable for both specialist and non-specialist students and recommended for those studying Politics/International Relations, as well as those on interdisciplinary pathways who have a particular interest in developing strong theoretical capabilities to critique political issues from a feminist perspective.

Module aims - intentions of the module

In this module you will develop a strong theoretical and practical understanding of the key concepts, theories and debates surrounding gender and sex in international security. You will develop an understanding on how military masculinities and femininities are constructed in ways that engender war, militarism and militarisation.

You will examine important feminist assertions about the gendered logics that define how certain threats but not others are identified as pertinent to security, about the overlapping of masculinities and militarism.

You will explore feminist security studies; the positionality of men and women within military organisations; the everyday and mundane experiences of war and war preparations; the gendering of violence and victimisation in war; the problematic nature of the private/public divide and war/peace divide; the gendered nature of peacebuilding; sexism, racism and sexual violence within the military; sexual violence within armed conflicts; the gendered patterns of anti-war and anti-militarist practices through which militarism and militarisation are disputed and resisted in modern-day politics.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 1. demonstrate critical knowledge and understanding of feminist analyses of the correlations between gender, warfare, and militarism;
• 2. demonstrate critically the different ways in which ideas and practices of masculinity and femininity are constructed within and through practices of war, militarism and militarisation;

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 3. employ theoretical arguments to examine empirical case studies;
• 4. critically engage mainstream accounts of war, the military and violence from a feminist perspective;

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

• 5. synthesize challenging literature and effectively articulate complex ideas in written form;
• 6. study independently and manage time and assessment deadlines effectively;
• 7. communicate effectively in speech and writing;
• 8. demonstrate proficiency in the use of the internet, online journal databases and other IT resources for the purposes of tutorial and assessment preparation.

Syllabus plan

Whilst the module’s precise content may vary from year to year, it is envisaged that the syllabus will cover for example the following topics: 

• Gender and International Relations
• Feminist theories on war, violence and militarism
• Gendering war and the military
• Militarism and militarisation
• Military training and war preparations
• Men, war and the military
• Women, war and the military
• Sex and the military
• Gender-based violence in war
• Resisting war and the military
• Gender and peacebuilding

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Formative assessment

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Details of summative assessment

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

• Catherine Baker. 2020. Making war on bodies: militarisation, aesthetics and embodiment in international politics (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press).
• Victoria Basham. 2013. War, identity and the liberal state: everyday experiences of the geopolitical in the armed forces (Hoboken: Taylor & Francis).
• Carol Cohn. 2013. Women and Wars (London: Polity Press).
• Cynthia Enloe. 1990. Bananas, beaches & bases: making feminist sense of international politics (Berkeley: University of California Press).
• Cynthia Enloe. 2000. Maneuvers: the international politics of militarizing women's lives (Berkeley: University of California Press).
• Cynthia Enloe. 2004. The curious feminist: searching for women in a new age of empire (Berkeley: University of California Press).
• Charlotte Hooper. 2001. Manly States: Masculinities, International Relations, and Gender Politics (New York: Columbia University Press).
• Simona Sharoni, Julia Welland, Linda Steiner (eds.) 2016. Handbook on gender and war (Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishers).
• Laura Sjoberg. 2014. Gender, War and Conflict (Cambridge: Polity Press).

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

• ELE – Faculty to provide hyperlink to appropriate pages
• The Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy
• The Gender and War Project
• Costs of War
• Veterans for Peace
• Peace pledge Union
• Global Militarisation Index
• VAWnet.org: Gender Based Violence Resource Library

Indicative learning resources - Other resources

• Other materials and resources will be identified by the module convener in lectures and via ELE and by tutors in tutorials.

Key words search

Gender; Feminism; War; Militarism; Race; Militarisation; Critical Military Studies