Women and the Use of Military Force

  • Ruth H. Howes and Michael R. Stevenson (Editors)

Abstract

With the active participation of women in the Gulf War, their role in mandating and implementing the use of military force has become a subject of heated debate. Clearly that role has changed – and expanded – greatly in the last decades. The policy-making establishment, though, continues to be predominantly male. And the obvious question remains: is there a fundamental difference in the way women and men use force and view its utilization on the international scale? Responding to this question, the authors of this book first examine the
theoretical approaches, particularly feminist approaches, to women’s use of physical force. Part 2 of the book presents data on the role women actually play in the use of force – in the uniformed military, in revolutionary struggles, in the policy-making establishment, in the development of nuclear weapons, and in shaping the peace movement. The editors conclude by assessing the likely effect of increasing numbers of women decision-makers on US national security policy.

Citation

Howes, Ruth H. and Michael R. Stevenson, eds. Women and the Use of Military Force. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1993.

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