invasion of mainland Japan. The two nations emerged as global major superpower after collaborating against the Axis powers, but by 1948, conflicting interests for the future of Germany and the rest of Western Europe resulted in an escalation of antagonism that culminated in the Soviet blockade of Berlin, forcing the supply by air of civilian needs behind the "Iron Curtain," a term coined by Winston Churchill describing the perception in the West of the Soviet approach to geopolitics in the region (McNamara 1995)
That approach ignores the individual and human tensions as well as grassroots social movements while giving great attention to states, sovereignty, power, security and conflict. Women are relegated to the role of victims in times of war When scholars, journalists, government bureaucrats, human rights organizations and others allude to protecting non-combatants in times of war, they often refer to "innocent civilians" but what they are really implying is "women and children" (Carpenter, 2005, p
S., warned that the war against war "…is going to be no holiday excursion or camping party" (Elshtain, 1995, p
These same assumptions are shared by scholars like Joshua S. Goldstein, professor emeritus at the American University, who believes that an important step in bringing change to sexism and the war system is ending "denial" and facing up to "war's influence on gender" (Goldstein, 2003, p
48) describes the more assertive path taken by radical feminists as they propose ways to "overthrow" the "masculinist privilege" vis-a-vis international relations. The radical feminists "accept all the qualities associated with the feminine as women's natural domain" and they "privilege these qualities over the masculine" (Hooper, p
Coercive, legitimated, and epistemic, it is the regime." A gendered reproduction of the state in international relations Most feminist scholars specializing in international relations write about gender in terms of "gender and the state" and their research moves from analyzing "sexist stages to patriarchal and later to gendered states" (Kantola, 2007, p
MacKinnon's book, Toward a Feminist Theory of the State, asks some extremely pointed questions that are germane to this paper. To wit: What is state power? Where, socially does it come from? How do women encounter it? What is the law for women? How does law work to legitimate the state, male power, itself? Can law do anything for women? (MacKinnon, 1991, p
43) in some meaningful way. Teaching gender in International Relations "Feminisms" have a great deal to contribute to the field of International Relations, according to Julie Mertus, writing in International Studies Perspectives (Mertus, 2007, p
Murphy's essay in International Organization offers readers a snippet of cogent narrative into a multitude of worthy articles on women and international relations. On page 520 Murphy posits that the "…innovative power of women's political movements will be a major determinant" in terms of how quickly and successfully women's status on the international scene will change towards the positive (Murphy, 1996, p
Florence Choe's death in Afghanistan is an example of what happens to anyone -- male or female -- who steps in harm's way. An article in the Los Angeles Times (Perry, 2010) describes the agony Choe's family goes through daily, and the circumstances of Choe's death
Labels, challenges and the backlash to feminism V. Spike Peterson and Jacqui True (Peterson, et al
Future feminist directions in international relations Where are the peace coalitions in the international relations scene? Betty Reardon observes that if peace researchers (be they male or female) and feminists seeking peaceful solutions to war don't combine their efforts soon, the human society will continue to suffer and human knowledge will never be complete. it's a crucial choice, Reardon writes in her book, Sexism and the War System (Reardon, 1996, p
That war is a "necessary evil" in some cases rings true for certain cultures in certain situations, Sjoberg writes. Her feminist reinterpretation of the "just war" theory holds that the "added normative strength and explanatory power" from the perspective of feminism is what that theory needs "…now more than ever" (Sjoberg, 2008, p
Christopher Coker of the London School of Economics and Politics is certainly in that group. An essay by Steve Smith -- professor of international politics at the University of Wales -- points out how Coker launched "a diatribe" against the newly offered course on gender and international relations at the London School of Economics and Politics (LSEP), Coker's own university (Smith, 1998, p
The reason for this lack of investigation into gender and International Relations, Steans explains, is not necessarily based on bias against females or chauvinism to any degree. To wit, historically, the study of International Relations has been focused on relationship between sovereign states, and since the "processes" and the "structures" of relations between states were not understood on the basis of gender, there seemed no link in that regard (Steans, 1998, p
S. negotiating team" when the Conference of the Seventeen-Nation Committee on Disarmament was set to open deliberations in Geneva in March, 1962 (Swerdlow, Amy, 1993, p
It goes into perceived loyalty to -- and love of -- country. According to author Tickner, Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California, giving one's life for one's country "has been considered the highest form of patriotism" and yet it is an act "from which women have been virtually excluded" (Tickner, 1992, p
It goes into perceived loyalty to -- and love of -- country. According to author Tickner, Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California, giving one's life for one's country "has been considered the highest form of patriotism" and yet it is an act "from which women have been virtually excluded" (Tickner, 1992, p
S. conducted an "extensive campaign of atmospheric nuclear tests, grouped into roughly 20 test 'series'" (Trinity Atomic Web Site)
employers depend the cheap labor provided by illegal Mexican workers." (Andreas, 592) Meanwhile, legal immigrants are often highly skilled workers whose abilities are vital in the niches they take