Research

Transformative Potential? Feminist Theories, Practices and Nuclear Ordering. (Doctoral Dissertation, Ongoing, since 2022)

This dissertation project investigates the transformative potential of feminist theory and practices for nuclear ordering, and contributes to critical IR scholarship on nuclear weapons and gender, the methodologies of discourse analysis and praxiography (methodology of doing practice theory research, Bueger 2014: 385), as well as theoretical and empirical considerations of nuclear weapons and Feminist Foreign Policy as well as practice theory. For this, I zoom into two contested issues within the nuclear order, which ought to be particularly interesting for Feminist Foreign Policies to address: the nuclear deterrence-disarmament conflict as well as the issue of nuclear (in)justice. 

The main purpose of the dissertation, as the research questions suggest, is an empirical inquiry. In doing so, the proposed dissertation addresses three distinct, yet increasingly interlinked academic communities. Methodologically, as it uses concepts such as discourse analysis and praxiography, the dissertation utilises and contributes to critical-constructivist research in International Relations (IR), particularly practice theory and norms research. In its empirical inquiries, this dissertation contributes to the community of scholars working on nuclear weapons and International Relations (IR), the community of scholars working on feminism and International Relations (IR), as well as the growing intersection of the two (e.g. Choi and Eschle 2022; Ehrenberg-Peters et al. 2023). The construction of the intersection of nuclear weapons politics and feminist theory and practice is particularly promising for a contribution to nuclear weapons IR as well as feminist IR: for the governance of nuclear weapons, Feminist thought might be perceived as solution, or at least catalyser for resolving issues inherent in nuclear ordering, and for feminism and Feminist Foreign Policies, nuclear weapons might be constructed as the ultimate symbol of patriarchy, drawing on the intertwined perceptions of nuclear weapons and military power (e.g. Cohn 1987, Acheson 2021).  

 

A Moral Compass? Enquiring into the Potential of Feminist Theory and Practice to shape a Sustainable International Society (CSS Working Group, Ongoing, 2024-2026)

 Living through interrelated existential risks such as war, autocracy, crumbling human rights, a pandemic, nuclear or ecological crises - the phenomenon of a ‘Polycrisis’ opens up theoretical and empirical puzzles. Dealing with a myriad of issues simultaneously calls for an orientation point, a moral compass and a vision for a sustainable future. For over 120 years, feminists in civil society and academia have criticised the status quo but also developed visions to transform global and local societies in a sustainable way. These visions can be, and indeed are being utilised by politicians and civil society actors who aim to translate feminist thought into practice. This project aims to map the potential of Feminist thought to tackle the polycrisis and shape a sustainable international society and aims to spell out what feminist thought envisions as a sustainable society. Our project fills the gap left by analytical endeavours on polycrisis by viewing Feminist thought as a moral compass embracing normativity in order to coherently navigate through a diverse set of interrelated crises. One remarkable example of this translation exercise from theory into practice marks the emergence of Feminist Foreign Policies and other feminist interventions into the international sphere - both should be central to the empirical inquiry of this project.

This project is preparing to dive into two questions: how can feminist visions guide the transformation from societies suffering from interrelated crises to sustainable societies? And how is feminism both contesting the status quo and is itself internally contested through differing conceptions of Feminism? With the method of ‘zooming in’, three dimensions of governance pertaining to aspects of the polycrisis are highlighted in more detail: the role of order, norms and policy: On order, feminists have, for instance, been involved in criticising the dominant ordering of nuclear weapons governance. Conventionally, the global nuclear order entails deterrence as a central element, clashing with nuclear disarmament. Feminist interventions from civil society and academia have long advocated for disarmament, yet Feminist Foreign Policies published by governments frequently exclude this normative aspiration - nuclear ordering remains contested.

More information can be found here.  

Toward A Feminist Nuclear Weapons Policy (Young DGAP Fellowship, 2022-2023) 

Germany’s current government included its commitment to a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) in its coalition agreement, triggering debates on what it is, why it is of value, and how it could be applied to developments such as the uprisings in Iran or Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. On March 1st 2023, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office published its guidlenes on how to reach the objectives set out by this approach that continue to be commented on by academics, journalists, and other civil society actors. Connecting nuclear weapons policy with Feminist Foreign Policy, admittedly, does not follow without introduction, but it can enrich debates on both.Feminist perspectives on nuclear weapons can address the inclusion of women in national and international decision-making bodies, our perceptions of security, and the language used to describe it. From an intersectional angle, FFP can also help illuminate the colonial heritage and structures of nuclear weapons governance. 

Although Germany only introduced its FFP recently, the connection between feminism and nuclear weapons has existed for much longer. Feminist activists and academics have offered various interrogations of global nuclear politics and criticized the gendered and exclusionary language around nuclear weapons – from bombs that were called “little boy” or “fat man” to technical jargon that overcomplicates debates. Traditionally, feminist academics have disagreed that nuclear deterrence increases security, partly because they have focused on human-centric rather than state-centric security, and partly because they have represented schools of thought that are critical of realist ideas. Where realists would, for instance, stress the benefits nuclear weapons are perceived to have in deterring adversaries, critical scholars would focus on the dangers of failing nuclear deterrence. Ultimately, those schools of thought are based on different explanations of why nuclear weapons have not been used. Realists refer back to a rationalistic understanding of deterrence; critical scholars add the notion of a nuclear taboo, refer to luck, and point to historical evidence of failing deterrence. To persuade nuclear weapon states to disarm, critical scholars frequently refer to strengthening international norms.

Read the full policy memo as the central outcome of the fellowship here. 

 

Gender Approaches to Disarmament and Arms Control and their Role in Peace and Conflict (Special Issue, with SCRAP Weapons, SOAS University of London, published 2023)

Examining the cases of global disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation will help to provide an understanding both of the role of women and the manifestations of patriarchal structures within international security and peace endeavours. The Special Issue embraces a ‘gender’ approach to understanding disarmament policy and practice, as well as peace and violence, with a particular emphasis on the role of women and feminism in relevant political processes and lived experiences. It will provide nuanced perspectives and interrogate issues such as the representation of women, strategies and logics of feminist activism, the role and practice of gender within United Nations processes, and regional questions within Latin America and the Caribbean, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and the Global North. By including co-produced articles, alongside papers exclusively authored by researchers, we will combine academic theoretical work and methodological rigorousity with the insights and experiences of global practitioners.
There is a need for a greater understanding of how ‘gender’ contributes to the constitution and (re-)production of armed conflict and violence. Carol Cohn, in her foundational 1987 “Sex and Death in the Rational World of Defence Intellectuals”, uses (nuclear) weapons as an example for the performative acts of discursive practices in international security. Her research considered discursive practices accompanying weapons systems, showed how these can constitute and (re-)produce gendered violence, and demonstrated that they can contribute to understanding gendered practices in peace and conflict (e.g. Shepherd 2007). This Special Issue will examine a variety of security discourses, for instance those embedded in the negotiation and implementation of multilateral disarmament and arms control treaties, and the bottom-up contestation of practices through activism.
The concept of ‘gender’ is important in this regard because it goes beyond traditional male-female binaries and considers both female leadership and patriarchal structures as important influences. By ensuring that men and masculinity (e.g. Hutchings 2008; Quest, Messerschmidt 2017) are also considered, and by incorporating intersectional analyses, we can enhance our understanding of what violence is, where power is concentrated, and how to devise solutions that overcome systemic manifestations and mechanisms. Discursive practices on arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament embody patriarchal structures and power as they resemble and reinforce domination, control, and aggression (e.g. Cohn, Hill and Ruddick 2006). The Special Issue includes papers by established academics, as well as papers co-produced by policy practitioners and academics.

The full special issue of the German Journal for Peace- and Conflict Studies can be found here.