Feminist International Relations Theory

Feminist IR theory emerged in the 1980s as a critique of neorealism, then the dominant paradigm. Traditional or ‘malestream’ IR presents states and the international system as gender-neutral, a perspective rooted in male dominance within both foreign policymaking and the discipline itself. This unexamined masculine lens is falsely assumed to be universal, resulting in a distorted and incomplete understanding of international politics.

Like other theoretical traditions, feminist IR encompasses diverse strands and approaches, making it difficult to define a unified core. Nonetheless, several distinguishing features can be identified.

As the term itself suggests, feminist theorists are particularly concerned with the often unequal position of women in international politics, broadly defined. Generally, men and women both perceive and are impacted by international affairs in different ways. One recurring observation is that foreign policy has long been dominated by men, reflecting the broader patriarchal structure of society. Feminist scholars critically examine patriarchy – a social system that privileges men and masculine values while marginalizing femininity. They seek to uncover and analyze the diverse roles, positions, and forms of agency that women occupy in international politics (True, 2022).

Feminist IR extends beyond a focus on women to examine the broader power relations between men and women. Most feminist scholars distinguish between biological sex and gender, with the latter referring to socially constructed roles, behaviors, and values associated with sex (Blanchard, 2014). Gender is pervasive, shaping both societies and global dynamics. As Sjoberg explains, gender analysis involves “thinking about the way that social expectations about masculinities and femininities influence the constitution, processes, and structures of global politics” (Sjoberg, 2012). Without accounting for gender, our understanding of international politics remains incomplete (Shepherd, 2010).

Feminist IR challenges the ontology of seemingly gender-neutral international structures and states. It examines the societal, transnational, and political-economic foundations of state behavior, arguing that these are inherently gendered. In this view, gender relations and inequalities significantly shape societies and economies, and thus influence international politics.