Feminism and International Security: From State Security to Human Security
Keywords:
International Security, Feminism, Human Security, Militarization, GenderAbstract
This academic article examines international security through a feminist framework, critiquing mainstream theories that center on state and military power, which are influenced by Realism and Neo-realism. These conventional approaches reflect androcentric values and neglect gender dimensions. Feminist scholars propose expanding the security concept beyond the state level to the individual level through the "Human Security" framework, which considers social, economic, and gender factors. The article also discusses how militarization processes and security discourses shape women's roles in security sectors. Feminists argue that these women are incorporated into security structures without bargaining power. Furthermore, the article suggests that integrating feminist perspectives can expand the scope of international security studies to be more comprehensive and lead to security approaches that address gender dimensions and social justice.
References
Arendt, H. (1969). On Violence. New York: Harcourt, Brace and World.
Buzan, B. (1983). People, states, and fear: the national security problem in international relations. Brighton, Sussex: Wheatsheaf Books.
Carver, T. (2017). Cynthia Enloe. In B. E. Carver, Histories of Violence: Postwar Critical Thought (p. 215-231). London: Zed Books.
Cohn, C. (1987). Sex and death in the rational world of defense intellectuals. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 12(4), 687-718.
Cohn, C. (1993). Wars, Wimps, and Women: Talking Gender and Thinking War. In M. C. Woollacott, Gendering War Talk (pp. 227-246). New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Connell, R. &. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept. Gender and Society, 19(6), 829-859.
Detraz, N. (2012). International Security & Gender. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Eisenstein, Z. (2007). Sexual Decoys: Gender, Race and War in Imperial Democracy. New York: Zed Books.
Enloe, C. (2000). Maneuvers: The International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives. London: University of California Press.
Enloe, C. (2010). Nimo's War, Emma's War: Making Feminist Sense of the Iraq War. London: University of California Press.
Enloe, C. (2014). Bananas, Beaches, and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics (Updated Edition). California: University of California Press.
Gregoratti, C. (2018, December 14). human security. In Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/human-security
Hansen, L. (2015). Ontologies, Epistemologies, Methodologies. In L. J. Shepherd, Gender Matters in Global Politics (pp. 17-27). New York: Routledge.
Hartsock, N. (1983). Money, Sex, and Power: Toward a Feminist Historical Materialism. Boston: Northeastern University Press.
Hooper, C. (1999). Masculinities, IR and the ‘gender variable’:a cost-benefit analysis for (sympathetic) gender sceptics. Review of International Studies, 25, 475-491.
Hooper, C. (2001). Manly States: Masculinities, International Relations, and Gender Politics. New York: Columbia University Press.
Jaquette, J. (1984). Power as Ideology: A Feminist Analysis. In J. H. Stiehm, Women's Views of the Political World of Men (pp. 9-29). New York: Transnational Publishers.
Mearsheimer, J. J. (2014). The tragedy of great power politics. New York: WW Norton.
Moon, K. H. (1997). Sex among Allies: Military Prostitution in U.S./Korea Relation. New York: Columbia University Press.
Morgenthau, H. J. (1948). Politics among nations : the struggle for power and peace. New York: A.A. Knopf.
Pitipat, S. (2010). saphāwa pen - yū - khư̄ khō̜ng ir. [The state of be-being-is of ir] In W. Mahattanobol (Ed.), rat khadī withī lōk hoksip pī chai wat Khamchū. [State Case, Way of the World: 60 Years, Chaiwat Kamchu] (pp. 95-115) Bangkok: Faculty of Political Sciences, Chulalongkorn University.
Sjoberg, L. (2010). Gender and International Security: Feminist Perspectives. New York: Routledge.
Sylvester, C. (1994). Feminist theory and international relations in a postmodern era. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Synne L. Dyvik, J. S. (2017). What's the Point of International Relations. New York: Routledge.
Tickner, J. A. (2006). Feminism Meets International Relations: Some Methodological Issues. In M. Stern, B. A. Ackerly, & J. True, Feminist Methodologies for Internatonal Relations (pp. 19-41). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Tickner, J. A. (2011). Gender in World Politics. In J. Baylis, The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations (pp. 262-292). United Kingdom: Oxford University.
Tickner, J. A. (2014). A Feminism Voyage through and International Relations. New York: Oxford University Press.
UNDP. (1994). Human Development Report 1994: New Dimensions of Human Security. New York: Oxford University Press.
Waltz, K. (1959). Man, State and War: A Theoretical Analysis. New York: Columbia University Press.
Wilkinson, C. (2018). Mother Russia in Queer Peril: The Gender Logic of the Hypermasculine Stat. In J. A. Swati Parashar, Revisiting Gendered States: Feminist Imaginings of the State in International Relations (pp. 105-121). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Political Science Critique

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All contents and information in the manuscripts published by Journal of Political Science Critique are the authors’ opinions; thus, the authors take sole responsibility for any contents. The editorial board does not agree with or accept responsibility for the manuscripts.
All published articles, information, contents, pictures, or other things in Journal of Political Science Critique are Copyright by the Journal. All Rights Reserved. All contents may not be copied or duplicated in whole or part by any means without the prior written permission of Journal of Political Science Critique.