Women, the State, and War: A Comparative Perspective on Citizenship and Nationalism

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Women, the State, and War looks at the intersection of gender, citizenship, and nationalism; marriage, intermarriage, and how states gender that relationship; and the ways in which women are used as symbols to reinforce or further nationalistic goals. Women have long struggled with issues of citizenship, identity, and the challenge of being recognized as equal members of the community. Governments use feminine imagery (e.g., mother country) to create a national identity, while simultaneously minimizing the role that women play as productive contributors to the society. Authors Joyce P. Kaufman and Kristen P. Williams examine the relationship of government and women in four different countries: the United States, Israel, the former Yugoslavia, and Northern Ireland. In each case, numerous similarities appear: conflict plays a significant role in the definition of citizenship for women; women's movements have worked in contradiction to the state; and citizenship and marriage are gendered undertakings.

Reviews

In this timely and accessible book, Kaufman and Williams merge mainstream questions and feminist frameworks to advance the insights of both. Their comparative study deepens our knowledge of citizenship and nationalism as gendered, and demonstrates the political salience of feminist inquiry. -- V. Spike Peterson, University of Arizona
Recommended. * Choice Reviews *
The analytical work itself is largely both compelling and convincing. For students of gender, violence and the State, this text offers an accessible overview of feminist literature on nationalism. * International Feminist Journal of Politics *
Kaufman and Williams rightly observe that with the rise of nationalism, protection for women's rights declined....I would recommend the book as very informative and for bringing attention to women's continuous struggles for equal rights....Kaufman and Williams also succeed in establishing the role of women's activism in the context of war and open conficts. * Women's Studies Quarterly *
I would recommend this book as very informative and for bringing attention to women's continuous struggles for equal rights. Kaufman and Williams also succeed in establishing the role of women's activism even in the context of war and open conflicts. * WSQ: Women's Studies Quarterly *
With their superb combining of IR theory and careful case studies, Kaufman and Williams reveal how state elites have relied on the manipulations of "mixed marriages" to exclude certain women from nationalist-defined citizenship - and how so many women have organized to resist that exclusion and the militarism that it foments. -- Cynthia Enloe, author of Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link

Author Bio

Joyce P. Kaufman is professor of political science and director of the Center for Engagement with Communities at Whittier College.
Kristen P. Williams is associate professor of government and international relations at Clark University.