Researching War: Feminist Methods, Ethics and Politics

Description

Researching War provides a unique overview of varied feminist contributions to the study of war through case studies from around the world. Written by well-respected scholars, each chapter explicitly showcases the role of feminist methodological, ethical and political commitments in the research process. Designed to be useful for teaching also, the book provides insight into feminist research practices for students and scholars wanting to further their understanding what it means to study war (and other issues) from a feminist perspective. To this end, every author follows a four-part structure in the presentation of their case study: outlining a research puzzle, explaining the chosen approach, describing the findings and, finally, offering a reflection on the feminist commitments that guided the research. This book: Provides a multi-disciplinary perspective on war by drawing on disciplines such as anthropology, history, literature, peace research, postcolonial theory, queer studies, security studies, and women’s studies; Showcases a multiplicity of experiences with war and violence, emphasizing everyday experiences of war and violence with accounts from around the world; Challenges stereotypical accounts of women, violence, and war by pointing to contradictions and unexpected continuities as well as unexpected findings made possible by adopting a feminist perspective; Teases out linkages between various forms of political violence (against women, but increasingly also by women); Discusses theoretical and methodological innovation in feminist research on war. This book will be essential reading for advanced students and scholars of Security Studies, Gender and Conflict, Women and War, Feminist International Relations and Research Methods. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents List of illustrations List of contributors Preface Introduction: Feminists study war Studying Women and War Feminism and Studying War Chapter Outline Notes Bibliography PART I: In Wars 1. Chechen political violence as desperation: What feminist discourse analysis reveals The Puzzle: The Gendered History of the Chechen Conflict The Importance of Words: Discourse as Power What Does Desperation Mean for Chechnya? Feminist Reflections: Desperate Binaries Notes Bibliography 2. Women and the matrix of violence: A study of the Maoist insurgency in India Puzzle: The Contested Histories and Silences Methodology: Multiple Narratives and Popular Culture Representations Findings: The Continuum of Violence Feminist Reflections Notes Bibliography 3. Female Engagement Teams in Afghanistan: Exploring the ‘War on Terror’ narrative The Puzzle Methodology: A Narrative Approach Findings: FET in Afghanistan Feminist Reflections Notes Bibliography 4. Positionalities, intersectionalities, and transnational feminism in researching women in post-invasion Iraq The Puzzle: Can Military Intervention Liberate Women? Our Approach Reflecting on our Respective Positionalites Our Findings Our Feminist Reflections Notes Bibliography 5. Militarized masculinities, women torturers, and the limits of gender analysis at Abu Ghraib The Puzzle: Military Masculinity and Women Torturers On Theory and Methods Analysis and Findings Reflections Notes Bibliography 6. Researching wartime rape in the Democratic Republic of Congo: A methodology of unease The Research Puzzle(s) Methodology: Conducting Research—Limits, Surprise, Shame and … Unease Findings: A Methodology of Unease Feminist Reflections Notes Bibliography PART II: After Wars 7. Tracing women’s rights after genocide: The case of Rwanda Introduction Collecting Data on Gender Equality Strategic Sampling through Directed Snowballing When the Observer becomes the Observed Discursive Spaces Setting the Context for Interviews Conclusion Notes Bibliography 8. ‘Doing no harm’: Methodological and ethical challenges of working with women associated with fighting forces/ex-combatants in Liberia Background to the Case The Research Puzzle: Overstepping Ethical Boundaries Methodology Findings Feminist Reflections Notes References 9. An intersectional analysis of the Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission Background The Puzzle: ‘Women’ as a Homogeneous Category Methodology Findings Feminist Reflections Notes References PART III: Everyday Wars 10. Studying gender in protracted conflicts: Israeli women’s lives in quantitative methods The Puzzle: How To Find the Right Research Method? The Existing Literature on Gender and Armed Conflict in Israel Findings: Designing Quantitative Feminist Research to Capture Intersectionality Feminist Reflections Note References 11. Studying ethical action competence and mindful action from feminist perspectives: The case of Nordic female police officers in Kosovo The Puzzle: What is at Stake in Studying the Experience of Finnish Female Police Officers in Security Roles? Determination, Communication and Serendipity: What Does it Take to Actually Do Eesearch? Selected Findings Notes Bibliography 12. Algerian feminist methodologies of recovery, redress and resistance in Assia Djebar’s La Femme sans Sépulture Research Puzzle Methodology Findings: Writing Zoulikha Back into History Reflections Notes Bibliography Afterword: Being reflexively feminist shouldn’t be easy Index