Feminist approach to International politics is biased

Feminist approach to international politics is biased. Comment. UPSC 2014 Paper 2A - Qn 1d

Women, in the west emerged as a distinct interest group in the early 19th century because of the democratic revolutions of the 17th century and the industrial revolution. 

Institutionalization of male dominance over women across all institutions of society, according to Gerda Lerner, does not mean that every individual man is always in a dominant position and that every individual woman is always in a subordinate position.

So, feminists in international politics rather than talking in a neutral tone would talk keeping the women's interest in mind. They take the platform of international politics as a medium to advance women's issues.

Feminists recognize that women are placed in an inferior position in society and that this hierarchy is based on gender. It is deliberate that it focuses on the socially constructed roles that ‘women’ occupy in world politics.

Over 1 to 3% of the world's business leaders are women. Over 17% of the world's Parliamentarians constitute women. Cynthia Enloe aims to question the absence of women.

Feminist theory in international relations was originally developed in work on the politics of development and in peace research. But by the late 1980s the first wave of Feminism, liberal feminism, was more forcefully posing the question of ‘where are the women in world politics?’

Thus, taking women seriously made a difference to the standard view of world politics. Liberal feminists look at the ways in which women are excluded from power and prevented from playing a full part in political activity. They examine how women have been restricted to roles critically important for the functioning of things (such as reproductive economies) and not usually deemed to be important for theories of world politics

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Buddhist contribution to Indian Political Thought

Evaluate the contributions of Buddhist tradition to Indian political thought. UPSC 2014 Paper 1A Qn 2c   The Buddhist tradition has made profound contributions to Indian political thought by introducing a unique blend of ethical, philosophical, and practical principles that have influenced governance, statecraft, and social justice. Rooted in the teachings of Gautama Buddha, the tradition emphasizes the integration of moral values with political practice, offering an alternative vision of power and governance distinct from the more hierarchical and ritualized structures of ancient Hindu polity. 1. Moral Foundations of Governance One of the central contributions of Buddhist tradition to Indian political thought is its emphasis on Dhamma (moral law) as the guiding principle of governance. Unlike the Dharma of Brahmanical tradition, which often had a caste-based interpretation, Dhamma in Buddhism is universal and egalitarian, focusing on ethical behavior, compassion, and the wel...
Read more

Human Rights - Universalism and Cultural Relativism

The debate on human rights is caught between the limitations of both universalism and cultural relativism. Comment. UPSC 2024 Paper 1A Qn 3a The debate on human rights is fundamentally shaped by the tension between universalism and cultural relativism, two competing perspectives on the nature, scope, and application of human rights. While universalists argue that human rights are inherent, inalienable, and applicable to all individuals regardless of cultural or social contexts, cultural relativists contend that rights must be understood within the specific traditions, values, and histories of different societies. This debate raises critical questions about the legitimacy, enforcement, and adaptability of human rights in a diverse global order.   The Universalist Perspective - Universalism, largely rooted in the Enlightenment tradition and codified in international human rights frameworks such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948), asserts that human rights...
Read more

Participative Approach to Development

The idea of Democracy becomes a reality when people are involved in collective problem-solving. The type of system in which development projects are conceived, planned, executed, operated, and maintained by outsiders, people receive benefits with little or no participation in the actual process of development. The field investigations showed the 'top-down' approach as inefficient as outsourcing development projects needed to address social issues. The limitations were - Unequal distribution of development benefits among different sections of the population Increased dependency of people on external resources Indifference of people towards the facilities created Heavy spending by the government on the replacement, operation, and maintenance of facilities created Depletion of natural resources due to over-utilization Under-utilization of inputs, when unsuitable for use The studies demonstrated that the problems ...
Read more