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Gender and International Relations 

From Theory to Practice: Women Policymakers

Reviews

Summer - Fall  2000 
Volume XX - Number Two

Full text of all articles in this issue is available at Project Muse

Gender and International Relations


Feminism Meets International Relations
Diana Thorburn

Over the past decade, gender approaches have entered the mainstream discourse on international relations. But has the field had any impact beyond the ivory tower? An introduction to the subfield of gender and international relations. 

Rereading Public and Private: The Dichotomy that Is Not One
V. Spike Peterson

The public-private dichotomy has long been employed to understand and describe gender relations. This article explores how shifting interpretations of the dichotomy influence the theory and practice of international affairs. 

Roundtable: Three Women, Two Worlds, One Issue
Azar Nafisi, Samantha Ravich, and Shirin Tahir-Kheli

Drawing on  their personal and professional experiences, an Iranian, an American, and a Pakistani discuss footbinding, the "elevator look," multicultural kindergartens, and the universality of feminist values. 

Mafiosi and Terrorists: Italian Women in Violent Organizations  
Alison Jamieson

What role do women play in violent organizations? What motivates them to take part in criminal activity? This comparison of two Italian organizations reveals striking differences: while sexual equality and autonomy from traditional forms of authority were a dominant factor in the Red Brigades, the Mafia has retained its patriarchal authoritarianism. 

From Theory to Practice: Women Policymakers


Women in American Foreign Policy
Madeleine K. Albright

The U.S. secretary of state explains why a national publication named her one of the world's twenty-five most intriguing people (along with a cloned sheep).

"What's So Terrible About Rape?" and Other Attitudes at the United Nations
Roberta Cohen

Given their employer's mission to support marginalized people, some United Nations personnel are remarkably oblivious to the needs of refugee women. 

A Woman's Place Is at the Peace Table
Jill Benderly

The author reveals how local women activists can shift societies from nationalist conflict to tolerance and peace. 

At the Crossroads of Tradition and Modernity
Mahnaz Afkhami

Describing her efforts to defend and promote women's rights in developing countries, this author reflects on the tension between modernity and tradition. 

Other Titles


Iran's Virtual Democracy at a Turning Point
Jahangir Amuzegar

While reform has augured important political and cultural changes, an effective plan for reviving Iran's economy has eluded Khatami. Will the newly elected Majiles help Iran's president awaken the sleeping economy and show the world that Islam and democracy can coexist?

Indeterminate Claims: New Challenges to Self-Determination Doctrine in Yugoslavia
Timothy William Waters

To achieve their objectives in Kosovo, Western policymakers have adopted rhetorical and legal positions that define and limit their options elsewhere. Waters explores possible consequences in the context of the Vojvodina region, where calls for autonomy are mounting. 

Bye-bye Britain? Devolution and the United Kingdom
Juliet Berger

Constitutional reform is set to profoundly transform the United Kingdom. But what will be the result? A federal state, a confederation, or even dissolution into separate states? A look at key historical, economic, and political determinants. 

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Reviews


(Re)Defining Roles

Front Men and Back Women: Where the Power Really Lies

In recent biographies of Mandela, Marcos, and Milosevic, Anna Simons finds that while leaders' wives wield significant power behind the scenes, their important and controversial role remains underexamined. 

Eritrean Women: Defending National Borders and Challenging Gender Boundaries

Asgedet Stefanos examines a photo essay by Cheryl Hatch, which depicts a diverse mosaic of women and their roles in the formation and preservation of present-day Eritrea.  

Can Institutions Get Gender Right? 

Gender has assumed a higher profile in the programs of most development institutions, but have they figured out what role gender should play in their organizations? Patricia T. Morris examines three recent studies that offer some blueprints. 

A Female Friendly Fighting Force Can Still Fight

In her review of The Kinder, Gentler Military by Stephanie Gutmann, Captain Diane Carnevale finds that the author's raucous irreverence for the military is both too much to stomach and too hard to ignore. 

When Escape is a Trap: The Gendered Construction of Identity in Japan

In reviewing Permitted and Prohibited Desires, Eileen Pennington finds that Japanese popular culture still does what it can to preserve the image of women as sexual objects and keep them in the home. 

Film Reviews

An Upper Egyptian in the American Press

Walter Armbrust takes issue with the American press coverage of a recent Egyptian blockbuster, noting that, despite claims to the contrary, one flag-burning scene does not constitute an anti-Israeli film.  

A Tale of Two Women

In her recent film, reviewed here by Afshin Molavi, Iranian director Tahmineh Milani takes a bold stab at the stubborn patriarchy in Iranian society, as seen through the very different lives of two friends.  

Historical Lessons

The More Things Change...: Learning from Other Eras of Unprecedented Globalization

In his review of Globalization and History, Robert S. Chase concedes that economists have much to learn from historians, but perhaps only after raising the bar for so-called experts of economic history.  

Making Realism Face the Facts

In his review of Stephen Morris's Why Vietnam Invaded Cambodia, Douglas Macdonald explains where the theorists went wrong in their explanation of events in Southeast Asia. 

Walking the Tightrope of Ambiguity

In reviewing Yoshibumi Wakamia's The Post-War Conservative View of Asia, Nathaniel B. Thayer sees Japan as still trying to shed its unhealthy attitudes toward Asia.

Democracy in a Land of Resentment

Can people forgive and forget acts committed under an oppressive regime? After reviewing three recent appraisals of South Africa's TRC, John-Paul Ferguson remains skeptical.  

Revisiting the Crossroads of History

What is events had happened differently? Radha Kumar surveys some possible outcomes in Niall Ferguson's pioneering compilation Virtual History: Alternatives and Counterfactuals. 

Politics and Personalities 

A Stroll Down La Avenida Kennedy

In reviewing The Most Dangerous Area in the World, Russell Crandall finds that Kennedy's policies toward Latin America were motivated at least as much by anticommunism as by the altruism, for which his picture still hangs in so many homes.

Rethinking Warlords

Paul B. Rich's recent compilation, Warlords in International Relations, represents one of the few recent attempts to explore the spread of lawlessness in fragile states. In her review, Marina Ottaway finds a calculated chaos in the warlords' aims and wonders where it will lead.  

The Enigmatic Haider

Analyzing three recent biographies, Hans-Georg Betz sees Jörg Haider winking to his audience in the public theater while Europe frets about the coming of the "Third Republic."

The Final Chapter of Mao's Legacy? 

Mark Fung asks whether we really needed another biography of the Great Helmsman, and such a large one at that. He finds that Philipp Short's Mao: A Life is not groundbreaking, but nuanced, detailed, and comprehensive.   

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