Feminism

Feminism in IR
Q: Bring out the importance of the theory of feminism in IR.
• To neglect the role of women in global affairs
• From the outset, feminist theory has challenged women’s near complete
absence from traditional IR theory and practice. This absence is visible both in
women’s marginalization from decision-making and in the assumption that the
reality of women’s day-to-day lives is not impacted by or important to
international relations.
• Man-made society (Patriarchal)
• Major issues in IR are discussed as; war, peace, cooperation, security, diplomacy
and foreign policy etc. According to feminists thinkers of IR, these issues reflect
masculine way of thinking.
• Feminists scholars of IR have also shown that how the formation of the state
and the ‘international society’ of states have helped the construction of gender
difference through divisions such as private/ public, state/society and domestic
and international. This division shows the patriarchal mindset.
• Peterson and Runyan have argued in their book Global Gender Issues (1993)
that women are disadvantaged group in the world compared to men.
• Globalization also enhanced to exploit the feminity.
• Cynthia Enloe rephrased the radical feminist slogan to ‘personal is political , and
international.
• To integrate women in mainstream politics and economics
• Feminists argue that gender inequality can be eradicated only by altering the
patriarchal social structure, and by empowering women socially and
economically , across the world.
Colonialism and Neocolonialism:
Q: What do you mean by neocolonialism? Discuss the methods of
establishing neocolonialism.
Q: Elaborate the difference between colonialism and neocolonialism.
Q: What is the difference between Imperialism and Colonialism?
• These two concepts are almost similar.
• Imperialism is often linked to the building of an empire by an alien power in
an alien land, and direct rule of that empire; colonialism refers to the
annexation of territory by a foreign power, and rule over the people of that
territory.
• V. I. Lenin’s views on imperialism as the highest stage of development of
monopoly capitalism is frequently referred to analyze the concept of
colonialism.
Colonialism:
• Colonialism is the practice of domination of one state over another
through political, administrative, and economic control. In the past, it
was also a process of acquiring territories by the industrially advanced
European powers in Asia, Latin America and Africa.
• The rise of capitalism in Europe during 12th to 15th century due to
Industrial Revolution.
• To find out new markets
• The Age of Discovery
• Rise of colonial power in Europe
• England, France, Prortugal, Holland and Spain established their Empires in
direct competition to each other.
• The colonies were acquired through trade, diplomacy and force.
• Concept of superiority or inferiority between colonial masters and natives.
• Concept of barbarism
• Religious conversions by missionaries
• Cheap labor
• To gain raw material
• To facilitate ‘native elites’ to gain socio-political benefit.
• The European colonizers forced their language upon the local
inhabitants, and also imparted education in it.
• Instead of food crops, the colonizers insisted on cultivating exportable cash
crops like indigo, sugarcane, jute, coffee and tea.
Neocolonialism:
• A group of third world scholars had first used the term ‘neocolonialism’ in
the early 1950s to describe the economic exploitation of the previous
colonies by the rich, industrially developed states.
• Neocolonialism is different from colonialism. Here domination is more
indirect and exercised mainly through economic means like loans, grants,
aids, and other forms of economic assistance given by the rich states.
• The advanced countries exploited the economic backwardness of the new
independent states by giving them economic assistance, but subjugating
them to their wishes and dictates. This novel form of indirect exploitation
came to be known as neocolonialism.
Methods of establishing neocolonialism:
• Neocolonial domination is perpetuated through several methods—economic,
socio-political and cultural.
• Economic method; to provide Loans, aids, grants, and donations to poor
countries. Creation of debt traps through economic assistance. Poor nations
which take loans from the advanced states at high rates of interest are often
unable to repay not only the principal amount but even the interests. So, the
amount of loan, keeps on multiplying. The situation turns grim when poor
states require fresh loans for developmental projects.
• They employ cheap and unskilled labour and pay relatively less wages to them
in host countries.
Socio-political methods:
• Creation of social unrest in former colonies by dividing them territorially, or on
ethnic and religious lines. India, Palestine, Congo and several other former
colonies are instances in this regard.
• Influencing domestic politics by bribing political parties, or arming and paying
groups that can topple an ‘unwanted’ government, and install a ‘preferred’ one.
• Assassination of local leaders who prove to be ‘obstacles 'to the political game plans
of the neocolonial masters.
• To assist the terrorist activities
• To control the political parties’ leaders

Cultural imperialism:
• Encouraging use of the language of the dominant powers for educational, social and
official purposes.
• Establishment of lavish cultural missions to attract the local people towards the
alien culture.
• Flooding the market with books, films, CDs and DVDs of games and films, and
foreign newspapers.
• TV programs, websites etc