Gender, critical theory and International Relations

Name: Marcus
Surname: Hollington
Student No. 70551
Course: INTR4010
Lecturer: Jacqueline Ala

Question 1
Fukuyama strengths and weakness
Fukuyamas article Women and the Evolution of World Politics is one of intense gender debate
and world politics. It seeks to highlight that men are more violent and therefore better suited for
demanding political positions than women by drawing on evidence and arguments extracted
from fields such as psychology, primatology and archaeology.
He begins his article by explaining how chimp behaviour is similar to that of human beings and
how male members of each species spend most of their time establishing alliances and
maintaining power in social hierarchies. For example he makes mention of how a certain young
male chimp by the name of Luit formed an alliance with another chimp Nikkie to overthrow
Yeroen the alpha chimp of the colony. However not so long after the overthrowing of Yeroen;
Nikkie betrayed Luit by forming an unlikely alliance with Yeroen to overthrow Luit by
murdering him.
The same is reflective of male human-being behaviour and an example of this can be that of
Blaise Compaor who betrayed former Burkina Faso president Thomas Sankara by killing him
so that he could rule Burkina Faso. Validating this argument as true. In the third section of his
article Francis Fukuyama refutes social-constructionist views put forward by anthropologists
Emile Durkheim and Franz Boas. Instead of advocating for ideas of evolution and
neurophysiology, Fukuyama attempts to exemplify sex-psychology as biologically determined.
According to Francis Fukuyama differences in sex are "genetically rather than culturally
rooted ... and extend beyond the body into the realm of mind" (1998, p.30). He further argues
that it is due to the biological makeup of the male species that men are in nature and are naturally
driven to go to war while women on the other hand are peaceful and cooperative in nature
(Fukuyama 1998, p.33).
This is problematic as differentiating the actions of men and women through biology does not
always pan out correct. For example Fukuyama gives the impression that women are not capable
of violence but there have been incidences in the past were women have actually gone to war.
Evidence of this can be that of Gravesites who excavated the remains of female warriors in

Russia which date as far back as the second millennium BC, Liberian female soldiers who
performed despicable acts of violence against men such as genital mutilation and last but not
least Queen Amina of Zaria Nigeria a Hausa warrior that rose up the ranks in the military by
actively participating in wars against rival tribes to secure safe passage for Hausa traders trading
throughout the Kingdoms (Cohen 2013, p.385; Ehrenreich 1999, p.119). It is due to the above
evidence that Fukuyamas argument on violence being biologically a male phenomenon is false.
The other weakness present in Fukuyamas article is that he believes that due to the increased
participation of women in politics the world as we know it is moving towards a peaceful and less
aggressive future, which is not true because putting a woman in power does not necessarily mean
less aggression as some women are just as aggressive and selfish as men in international politics.
An example of this can be that of Condoleezza Rice who during her term as US Secretary of
State was involved in the legal invasion of Iraq which was justified on the imaginary scenario
that Iraq and Saddam Hussein were responsible for the bombing of the World Trade Centre on 11
September 2001; while in actual fact the reason she took part in the illegal invasion that led to
the deaths of millions of innocent Iraqis was to secure Iraqi oil which America could not get
access to because of Saddams unwillingness to cooperate and give America access to Iraqi oil
hence he had to be taken out (Mancias 2015).
However, despite having so many weaknesses in his article Fukuyama does make a valid point
by stating that despite womens increased participation in international politics, men will still
play a leading role in the administration of developed and developing countries (Fukuyama 1998,
p.27). This argument holds true in both Western and Non-Western contexts. For example in the
West; despite being Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice still reported back to a man George
Bush making her a subordinate of her male counterparts, and in South Africa despite having a
significant number of women in parliament it is the opinion of the men is prioritised over that of
the women.
Tickners Strengths and Weaknesses
Tickner's article is a response to Francis Fukuyama's article, 'Women and the Evolution of World
Politics' (1998). She argues that Fukuyama focuses too much on gender stereotypes surrounding
women in IR and that he "deflect[s] attention away from this more pressing agenda of working
hard toward world of increased gender equality" (Tickner 1999, p. 11). She also suggests that

more attention needs to be given to real world IR issues such as poverty, war and economic
globalisation which can actually bring change to the world. She argues that Fukuyamas views
about gender are deeply conservative and that his views align themselves with a conservative
agenda that seeks to subordinate women and keep them from attaining positions of power in
society.
Furthermore Tickner is able to point out the irrationality of Francis Fukuyamas gender
arguments. She argues that war is not an election that people in society can vote for or against as
Fukuyama would like to believe because according to Fukuyama a significant number of
American women are voting for peace. This argument is ridiculous as there is no way that
women or men for that matter can actually vote for or against war as there are no structures put
in place for them to do so. It is only Statesmen that have the power to decide whether interstate
war is to take place or not. It is for this reason that l commend Ticker on being able to point the
irrationality of Fukuyamas argument.
However as good as Tickners article might be it is limited in the sense that it focuses more on
the Global North gender debate, nowhere in her article does she include gender debates from the
Global South which can be problematic as it universalises the gender experiences of Western
women, subordinating that of non-Western women.
In conclusion, of the two article the one that l find more compelling is Tickners article because it
provides a direct critic of Fukuyamas article and illustrates how irrational some of his arguments
are such as that of women voting for peace not war which is impossible as there arent structures
in place to give women or men for that matter to decide whether a country goes to war or not.
Lastly, unlike Fukuyama, Tickner is more rational as she realises that theres better issues to
debate and discuss than differences in gender.

Question 2
Class Assignment 2: Gender Security
Security for women
In mainstream International Relations the term security is often defined in terms of state security
that is the protection of the state and its inhabitants from the anarchy existent in the international
community. As much as this definition is true it is narrow given that security is more than just the
mere protection of the state and its citizens. According to Tickner and Sjoberg (2010, p.203-204)
the term security should be defined more broadly than that used in mainstream IR which is why
they define it as protection from all forms of violence inclusive but not limited to economic
inequality, gender subordination, domestic violence, rape etc.
The above forms of violence have one thing in common, their victims are usually women raising
the question of whether the term security has different meanings for each gender or not. The
answer is yes; the term security does have different meanings for each gender and the gender
type in need of more security is female given that girls and women are genetically and socially
weaker than their male counterparts making them vulnerable to most forms of violence.
Several feminist studies have shown that state security can be a direct cause of insecurity for the
more vulnerable in society. An example of such a study can be that of Blanchard (2003, p.1295)
who while doing research in Korea found that the Korean government deliberately promoted
prostitution in areas known for U.S military presence in Korea so as to encourage their presence
there and protect the state from unwanted conflict. In other words in efforts of protecting the
state, the Korean government used prostitutes as a bargaining tool to lure U.S military troops into
staying and protecting the region. This is a clear illustration of how vulnerable women are in
society especially in the developing world, therefore security for women in the developing world
would mean protection from state exploitation such as that seen in Korea.
However, one criticism of the above study would be that it does not fall within the realm of
international politics that deals purely with military and interstate matters. Feminists would

disagree with this due to their belief that the international and the domestic are inextricably
linked, and this separation is detrimental to our understanding; and that their separation could be
equated to the public/private dichotomy that allows domestic abuse to carry on without
intervention (Blanchard 2003, p.1296). A further reason for mainstream scholars not accepting
this definition of security can be read when Tickner cites Walts 1991 paper in her explanation
for the persistence of the traditional view of security and power: Security specialists believe that
military power remains a central element of international politics and that the traditional agenda
of security studies is, therefore, expanding rather than shrinking (Tickner 1997, p.624).
One of the alternative ways of considering security using a gender-sensitive approach is through
economic security. According to Tickner (1997) women are disproportionately located at the
bottom of the socio-economic hierarchy in all societies due to the gendered division of labor.
Women all over the world are remunerated lessor than their male counterparts due to the
assumption that women wages are supplementary. Such gender assumptions are not true given
that about a third of all households are headed by women (Tickner and Sjoberg 2010, p.205).
In combination to womens relegation to certain types of jobs that are considered natural to
them (Tickner 1997, p.628), this makes women especially vulnerable economically. Especially in
economic terms, regular security analysis approaches fail to uncover the truth in situations.
Whereas normally a larger army would be considered protection from the anarchical
international system, due to womens particular economic vulnerability, militaries frequently are
seen as antithetical to womens securityas winners in the competition for resources for
social safety nets on which women depend disproportionately to men (Tickner 1997, p.625).
Such things can only be exposed using gender as a category of analysis. Another example that
exposes the shortcomings of regular security analysis is the case of economic sanctions against
Iraq. Tickner illustrates this in a case study by showing how what is usually considered a
humane solution to interstate conflict actually had a profoundly negative and often fatal effect
on Iraqi civilians (Tickner and Sjoberg 2010, p.206-209). Gendered approaches can expose the
true effects of a humane security policy because as mothers, family providers, and care-givers,
women are particularly penalized by economic sanctions associated with military conflict
(Tickner 1997, p.625).

Warfare is also an example that shows the vulnerability of women in society. It is often said that
in times of war men fight to protect women and children yet they make up majority of casualties
(Tickner and Sjoberg 2010, p. 204). Some feminists claim that this myth of protection, the
belief that wars are fought to protect women, the elderly and children, is a form of structural
violence.
Additionally woman are also excluded from the political realm, the ratio of women compared to
that men in parliament is far much lessor than that of men meaning that their voice is heard and
their concerns are not really included in policy formulation.
Security for Men
For men the term security can basically be defined from a realist point of view in the sense that
men are selfish by nature and are governed by interests and power whether it be political
economic or military. A perfect example of this can be that of President Kabila of the DRC who
uses wealth acquired from corruption to buy the loyalty of his cabinet in order to stay in power
and maintain his economic and political interests without any concern for the opinion of the
masses.
Furthermore men are viewed as the bread winners of the family therefor for them security can
also mean being able to care and provide for the household financially or suffer being viewed as
being less of a man. Additionally security for men can also mean physical security that is the
physical ability to defend oneself from any form harm perpetrated onto them by either other men
or women. It is due to this physical security that men are conscripted into the military instead of
women which may be problematic given that there are also women willing to join the military
but cannot due to this gender stereotype.
However, it must also be noted that while the assumption of physical security is true not all men
possess the physical ability to defend themselves from either men or women. As strange as it
might be there have been cases where women have reportedly abused men. For example
according to Cohen (2013, p.385) female soldiers in Liberia have carried despicable acts of
violence against men such as genital mutilation. It is therefore imperative that structures be put in
place to protect some men from the physical harms/abuse perpetrated unto them not only by men
but women as well, as female inflicted violence is a reality.

Contrast of security in the developing and developed world

In mainstream IR security in a developing world context would be characterized by economic
development and inclusive of this would be the alleviation of poverty, hunger, disease, abuse and
other socioeconomic issues. From a gender perspective security would focus on gender equality
and seek to create a level playing field in which both men and women can co-exist with one
another as equals without neither one of the two becoming a subordinate to the other. It would
seek to do away with the traditional practices of gender in which men are viewed as being more
superior to women as well as do away with the male inflicted violence that comes as a result of
such primitive ways of thinking. In contrast security in the developed world would simply focus
on the maintenance of its already developed state and environment as well as seek to increase the
participation of women in formerly male dominated spheres of life as people in the developed
world treat each other as more or less equals.

Bibliography

Blanchard, E. M. 2003. International Relations and the Development of Feminist Security

Theory. Chicago Journals , 28 (4), pp. 1289-1312.

Tickner, J. A. 1997. You Just Dont Understand: Troubled Engagements Between Feminist and
IR Theorists. International Studies Quarterly, 41, pp. 611-632.

Tickner, J. A. and Sjoberg, L. 2010. Feminism IN: Dunne, T., Kurki, M. and Smith, S. (eds.)
International Relations Theory: Discipline and Diversity. 2 ed. New York: Oxford University
Press, pp. 196-212.

Question 3
What does the introduction of a postcolonial gender perspective bring to International
Relations?

Global politics has always been a field characterized by a disproportionate gender labor pool. Its
structures among these foreign policy formulation, diplomacy and the military have
predominantly been ran by men. Since these structures are administrated by men, the discipline
responsible for the analysis of these structural undertakings is inevitably bound to be about men
and masculinity. Nowhere is this more true than in the field international relations, a discipline
that, while it has for the most part resisted the introduction of gender into its discourse, bases its
assumptions and explanations almost entirely on the activities and experiences of men .
The introduction of a postcolonial gender perspective in International Relations brings about a
major advancement within the field, as it slowly dilutes its masculine thought with feminism
diversifying its structures in such a way that they are not only governed by men but by women as
well. Feminism is perhaps one of the only schools of thought that has challenged IR masculinity,
taking up a new angle of explaining political and social issues, and telling a different story within
IR; one that seeks to illustrate the gendered nature of many of the underlying concepts within
International Relations. Feminists Enloe and Sylvester (2002) have argued that disciplinary
international relations, with its tendency to deal in abstract and depopulated landscapes of power
and sovereignty, has ignored many of the realities of a world made up of people, places and the
politics of everyday life.
The postcolonial gender perspective has among many things brought forth the assertion that the
personal is political (Enloe & Sylvester 2002) into IR giving feminists the ability to illustrate

how concepts of gender operate alongside other spheres of dominance, such as class, race,
ethnicity and culture. It could thus be argued that some of the first gestures towards a promising
postcolonial international relations came from such feminists who unmasked gender as an
instrument in the exercise of power.
Furthermore it should be noted that postcolonial feminism is not a single theory but an
amalgamation of competing yet interlinked theories. For example Marxist feminists seek to
transform the oppressive socio economic structures of capitalist societies, while liberal feminists
focus on the acquisition of equal human rights for women. (Steans 1998, p.16-19). Another
theory within postcolonial feminism that has brought change to the IR discipline is postmodern
feminism which argues against the idea of an all telling true story about the human being
experience (Steans 1998, p.25-26). Postmodern feminists argue that there is no authentic
womens experience that can be used as a template for understanding the world.
Before the penetration of feminism into the discipline IR was not concerned with gender,
however after its inception into the discipline International Relations has begun unveiling the
crucial role that women play in international political structures such as the international
economy and war. For example in her work titled Bananas, Beaches and Bases Cynthia Enloe
(1989) discusses the roles that women play in everyday life, illustrating how important their
contribution is to the undertakings of the state by taking on the role of laborer in plantations,
consumer, prostitutes surrounding military bases and spouses of civil servants. She argues that
excluding women in theories leaves IR with a political analysis that is incomplete, even naive
(Enloe 1989, p.2).
A perfect example of this can be womens experiences in war: basically war widens the
economic inequalities existent between men and women and forces women into unpaid work,
such as caring for the injured or sick when hospitals are destroyed (Chew 2008, p.76-77).
Women are forced into prostitution for survival, sometimes being contracted informally by
military leaders around bases in order to sustain the morale of soldiers (Enloe 1989, p.81-92;
Chew 2008, p.76-77). Seeing war through the eyes of women can change the very nature of what
constitutes the boundaries of International Relations, shifting the focus from the causes and costs
of inter-state war to the drastic consequences individuals suffer due to warfare and oppression
(Tickner 1997, 625; Steans 1998, 102).

In sum, it is clear that the introduction of postcolonial gender perspective in international

relations has brought about much needed change in International Relations, it has exposed the
gender biases embedded in IR theories such as realism, liberalism and to reconstruct gender
neutral outlooks on global outlooks. Furthermore it has made evident the ways in which
mainstream theories are lacking and unable to account for half the population of the world
(women). In this sense, feminist theory provides a rich analytical tool that will continue to make
insightful and transformative contributions to the IR discipline.
Bibliography
Cynthia Enloe, Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics,
(University of California Press, Berkeley, 1990); Christine Sylvester, Feminist International
Relations: An Unfinished Journey (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge and New York,
2002).

Chew, Hubin Amelia, (2008), Whats left? After imperial feminist hijackings, in Riley, Robin
L, Mohanty, Chandra Talpade and Pratt, Minnie Bruce (eds), Feminism and War: Confronting
US Imperialism, Zeb Books: London, New York, pp75-91.

L.H.M. Ling, Postcolonial International Relations: Conquest and Desire between Asia and the
West (Palgrave, Houndmills and New York, 2002); L.H.M Ling, Cultural Chauvinism and the
Liberal International Order: West versus Rest in Asias Financial Crisis in Chowdhry and Nair
(eds.) Power, Postcolonialism and International Relations, pp. 115-141.

Enloe, Cynthia, (1989), Bananas, Beaches and Bases, Pandora: London

Sylvester, Christine, (2002), Feminist International Relations Theory: An Unfinished Journey,

Cambridge University Press: Cambrigde.

Tickner, Ann, J., (1997), You just dont understand: Troubleed engagements between Feminists
and IR Theorists, International Studies Quarterly, 41, p. 611-632.

Steans, Jill, (1998), Gender in International Relations: an introduction, Polity Press: Cambridge.