In the first chapter of her book, Gender in International Relations, Ann Tickner has raised a very important issue in International Relations: lack of female participation in foreign policy. The front page of The Sydney Morning Herald has mentioned today that women have successfully broken "into the old boy's club of international diplomacy long time ago" (The Sydney Morning Herald), but I do believe that a lot of work still needs to be done to allow more women participation in international politics.
It is always healthy to bring diversity in a particular group. The selection criteria should encompass all races, nationalities and genders in order to have diversity of knowledge, experiences, insights and ideas in that particular group. Therefore, I totally agree with Tickner that female participation should be encouraged and feminist theories should be included in international politics as they "can offer us some new insights on the behavior of states and its needs of individuals, particularly those on the peripheries of the international system" (Tickner ch 1). She has also further stated that the inclusion of "female perspectives, constructed out of the experiences of women" (Tickner ch 1) into the field of international relations "can add a new dimension to our understanding of the new world economy, since women are frequently the first casualties in times of economic hardship, we might also gain some new new insights into the relationship between militarism and structural violence" (Tickner ch 1). The IR club shouldn't be exclusive only to men. Successful corporations of today avoid limiting the selection criteria, for a team member, to any specific gender or race etc and stress upon having a multicultural workforce in order to incorporate diverse insights and ideas which are not only beneficial for the product or service they are selling but also for the entire organization.
During her speech in the hall of United States Institute of Peace, Margot Wallstrom, the Swedish Foreign Minister, explained the feminist foreign policy which her government had decided to pursue in December. Unfortunately, this policy was met with ridicules and derision which she described it as a "giggling factor". For her, a feminist foreign policy shares the same goals that are pursued by any other foreign policy: human rights, peace, human development and justice. The Minister maintained that "whether the day's work is planning aid programs or hiring diplomats or drafting treaties or running peacekeepers' checkpoints in war zone, we need to do it differently, changing the habitual practices that have allowed women to be ignored, silenced, abused or even attacked" (www.usip.org). Ann Tickner has pointed out one of the reasons of why female participation in foreign policy is discouraged. She believes that "strength, power, autonomy, independence, and rationality, all typically associated with men and masculinity, are characteristics we most value in those to whom we entrust the conduct of our foreign policy and the defense of our national interest" (Tickner ch 1). She has even included Schroeder's story which suggests that despite of having experience in foreign policy, women are still regarded as too weak and emotional "for the tough life and-death decisions required for the nation's defense" (Tickner ch 1). It is not ideal to possess an attribute of weakness if the issues of national security are at stake. While acknowledging the same criticisms from bloggers that feminist foreign policy would possibly minimize the use of military force, Minister Wallstrom replies in epic fashion by citing Joseph Nye's argument that "the tools of foreign policy can, in varying degrees, be hard as well as soft...the situation at hand determines this" (www.usip.org). As an example, the government of Sweden announced in December to increase its military budget in response to growing tension between the West and Russia. Wallstrom has further argued that "striving toward gender equality is therefore not only a goal in itself, but also a precondition for achieving our wider foreign, development and security policy objectives" (www.usip.org).
Minister Wallstrom's speech was mostly remembered for this phrase of hers: "I do not want anyone to ever say again that there are no competent women around to involve" (www.usip.org).
Full link www.usip.org------ http://www.usip.org/olivebranch/2015/02/09/sweden-s-foreign-minister-explains-feminist-foreign-policy
The Sydney Morning Herald; http://www.usip.org/olivebranch/2015/02/09/sweden-s-foreign-minister-explains-feminist-foreign-policy.
Tickner, J.Ann. Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
It is always healthy to bring diversity in a particular group. The selection criteria should encompass all races, nationalities and genders in order to have diversity of knowledge, experiences, insights and ideas in that particular group. Therefore, I totally agree with Tickner that female participation should be encouraged and feminist theories should be included in international politics as they "can offer us some new insights on the behavior of states and its needs of individuals, particularly those on the peripheries of the international system" (Tickner ch 1). She has also further stated that the inclusion of "female perspectives, constructed out of the experiences of women" (Tickner ch 1) into the field of international relations "can add a new dimension to our understanding of the new world economy, since women are frequently the first casualties in times of economic hardship, we might also gain some new new insights into the relationship between militarism and structural violence" (Tickner ch 1). The IR club shouldn't be exclusive only to men. Successful corporations of today avoid limiting the selection criteria, for a team member, to any specific gender or race etc and stress upon having a multicultural workforce in order to incorporate diverse insights and ideas which are not only beneficial for the product or service they are selling but also for the entire organization.
During her speech in the hall of United States Institute of Peace, Margot Wallstrom, the Swedish Foreign Minister, explained the feminist foreign policy which her government had decided to pursue in December. Unfortunately, this policy was met with ridicules and derision which she described it as a "giggling factor". For her, a feminist foreign policy shares the same goals that are pursued by any other foreign policy: human rights, peace, human development and justice. The Minister maintained that "whether the day's work is planning aid programs or hiring diplomats or drafting treaties or running peacekeepers' checkpoints in war zone, we need to do it differently, changing the habitual practices that have allowed women to be ignored, silenced, abused or even attacked" (www.usip.org). Ann Tickner has pointed out one of the reasons of why female participation in foreign policy is discouraged. She believes that "strength, power, autonomy, independence, and rationality, all typically associated with men and masculinity, are characteristics we most value in those to whom we entrust the conduct of our foreign policy and the defense of our national interest" (Tickner ch 1). She has even included Schroeder's story which suggests that despite of having experience in foreign policy, women are still regarded as too weak and emotional "for the tough life and-death decisions required for the nation's defense" (Tickner ch 1). It is not ideal to possess an attribute of weakness if the issues of national security are at stake. While acknowledging the same criticisms from bloggers that feminist foreign policy would possibly minimize the use of military force, Minister Wallstrom replies in epic fashion by citing Joseph Nye's argument that "the tools of foreign policy can, in varying degrees, be hard as well as soft...the situation at hand determines this" (www.usip.org). As an example, the government of Sweden announced in December to increase its military budget in response to growing tension between the West and Russia. Wallstrom has further argued that "striving toward gender equality is therefore not only a goal in itself, but also a precondition for achieving our wider foreign, development and security policy objectives" (www.usip.org).
Minister Wallstrom's speech was mostly remembered for this phrase of hers: "I do not want anyone to ever say again that there are no competent women around to involve" (www.usip.org).
Full link www.usip.org------ http://www.usip.org/olivebranch/2015/02/09/sweden-s-foreign-minister-explains-feminist-foreign-policy
The Sydney Morning Herald; http://www.usip.org/olivebranch/2015/02/09/sweden-s-foreign-minister-explains-feminist-foreign-policy.
Tickner, J.Ann. Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security. New York: Columbia University Press, 1992.
This is by far the best post on feminism. It was refreshing to read a different blog instead of just reading summaries of the reading.
ReplyDeleteTo add to what you've written, feminism is still not embraced by a large population (women included). Also, new fields such as liberal feminism are also emerging in IR.