Development in practice, Vol. 16, No. 3 / 4 (jun., 2006), pp. 342-353. This essay explores the need to make th e roles of women and of men visible. It also examines how relations between women and men are ch ang ed d uring and as a result of such conf lict.
Development in practice, Vol. 16, No. 3 / 4 (jun., 2006), pp. 342-353. This essay explores the need to make th e roles of women and of men visible. It also examines how relations between women and men are ch ang ed d uring and as a result of such conf lict.
Development in practice, Vol. 16, No. 3 / 4 (jun., 2006), pp. 342-353. This essay explores the need to make th e roles of women and of men visible. It also examines how relations between women and men are ch ang ed d uring and as a result of such conf lict.
Women, Gender, and Conflict: Making the Connections
Author(s): Martha Thompson Source: Development in Practice, Vol. 16, No. 3/4 (Jun., 2006), pp. 342-353 Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Oxfam GB Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4030064 Accessed: 23/10/2010 16:02 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=taylorfrancis. 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Oxfam GB and Taylor & Francis, Ltd. are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Development in Practice. http://www.jstor.org Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 Taylor&FrancisGroup Women, g end er, and conf lict: mak ing th e connections Marth a Th ompson Th is review essay explores th e need to mak e th e roles of women and of men visible in ord er to und erstand th e d if f erent ways in wh ich th ey are involved in, and af f ected by, armed conf lict; and also to examine th e ways in wh ich g end er roles, th e relations between women and men, are ch ang ed d uring and as a result of such conf lict. Th e auth or reviews current literature on th e political economy of conf lict, and f eminist writing on women in conf lict, noting th at th e f ormer tend s to be g end er-blind , wh ile th e latter g enerally f ails to tak e into account an und er- stand ing of th e wid er Realpolitik . Th e auth or f ocuses on f ive recent f eminist work s th at h ave attempted to d o th is, and h ence contributed to moving th e d ebate f orward . * Enloe, Cynth ia (2004) Th e Curious Feminist: Search ing f or Women in th e New Ag e of Empire, Berk eley, CA: University of Calif ornia Press. * Giles, Wenona and Jennif er Hynd man (ed s.) (2004) Sites of Violence: Gend er and Conf lict Zones, Berk eley, CA: University of Calif ornia Press. * Mazurana, Dyan and Kh ristoph er Carlson (2004) From Combat to Community: Women and Girls in Sierra Leone, Cambrid g e, MA: Women' s Policy Commission, Harvard University. * Mazurana, Dyan, Ang ela Raven Roberts, and Jane Parpart (ed s.) (2005) Gend er, Con- f lict and Peacek eeping , New York , NY: Rowan & Littlef ield . * Nord strom, Carolyn (2004) Th e Sh ad ows of War: Violence, Power and International Prof it- eering in th e Twenty-f irst Century, Berk eley, CA: University of Calif ornia Press. Lif ting experience up to th e lig h t Camilo Cienf ueg os, a much -loved h ero of th e Cuban revolution, is pictured on Cuba's blue 20- peso bank note. Wh en you h old it up to th e lig h t, th e f ace of Celia Sainch ez appears beh ind h im. Alth oug h sh e is a f amous revolutionary h eroine in h er own rig h t, and wid ely believed to be Fid el Castro's most trusted ad viser until h er d eath , Celia is invisible until th e lig h t sh ines th roug h th e bank note. One way to classif y th e literature on g end er and conf lict is to d ivid e it into th at wh ich mak es women's and g irls' experience of conf lict visible by h old ing it up to th e lig h t; and th at wh ich analyses th e d if f erent g end er roles th at emerg e in conf lict, th e ch ang ing concepts of masculine and f eminine id entities, and ch ang es in th e power relationsh ips between men and women. Both aspects of th e g end ered analysis of conf lict are of f und amental importance. Practice h as sh own th at if we d on't und erstand th e specif ic circumstances, experiences, roles, vulnerabilities, and capacities of men and women in war, we construct h omog eneous strateg ies of response th at 342 ISSN 096] -4524 Print/ISSN 1364-92 13 Online 3-40342-12 ?I 2006 Oxf am GB DOI: 10.1080/09614520600694976 Routled g e Publish ing Women, g end er, and conf lict d o not ad d ress g end er-based d if f erences and g enerally tend to d isad vantag e women. Hold ing women's experience up to th e lig h t is also crucial: with out d oing th is we cannot set th at experi- ence in th e context of sh if ting g end er id entities, roles, and power relationsh ips in situations of conf lict. Th is is true wh eth er you work in h umanitarian relief , reh abilitation, peace-k eeping ef f orts, h uman rig h ts, d isarmament, d emobilisation, or post-conf lict reconstruction. Th e literature on g end er and conf lict and on women in conf lict h as g rown stead ily over th e last 20 years. Th is includ es texts d ealing with th e ways in wh ich war af f ects women and g irls d if f erently f rom men and boys, th e particular vulnerabilities and capacities th at women d evelop in conf lict, and th e d if f erent ways in wh ich relief and oth er f orms of assistance and th e cessation of h ostilities can af f ect men and women. (See, f or example, Ash f ar 2004; Byrne 1995; Cock burn 2004; El-Bush ra and Piza Lopez 1984; El Bush ra 2004; Enloe 2000; Kampwirth 2002; Korac 2004; Manch and a 2001; Mertus 2000.) Despite th is, th ere are still several important areas of th e literature on conf lict wh ere th ere is little or no g end er analysis. As Cynth ia Cock burn says, 'Gend er h as a curious way of being both simultaneously present and absent in popular perception' (Cock burn 2004: 25). Much of th e current literature is still mainly about men's involvement in conf lict, wh eth er th ey are creating it, prof iting f rom it, provok ing it, supplying it, d oing th e f ig h ting , d irecting it, or suf f ering f rom it. Th is g end er blind ness is perpetuated wh en writers specif ically id entif y men as th e main or sole actors in armed conf lict, or f ail to question th e assumption th at men's experiences and perspectives of war are universal. In th is review of current writing on women, g end er, and conf lict, I f ocus on th e weak ness of g end er analysis in th e current d ebates on conf lict th eory. Most of th ese d ebates are being con- d ucted f rom a g end er-blind perspective, and f ar too f ew f eminists and g end er specialists h ave eng ag ed in th em. Th is article f irst lays out some of th e areas wh ere I f eel th ere is a need to apply a g end er analysis to new conf lict th eories; th en it id entif ies some of th e writers wh o are trying to d o th is. Current d ebates on conf lict th eory Analysts across th e political spectrum ag ree th at th e cond uct and ch aracteristics of war h ave ch ang ed since th e end of th e Cold War. Most wars are f oug h t internally; eth nic d ivisions are prominent; no sid es can any long er d epend on support f rom th e superpowers and must f ind th eir own f orms of f inancing th e war; civilians are wid ely targ eted ; and national sovereig nty h as been ch alleng ed by th e g rowing use of armed h umanitarian intervention. However, much mainstream th ink ing about contemporary armed conf lict is still d ominated by outd ated and questionable th eories about th e causes and mech anics of war. Th is is partly d ue to th e d ominant parad ig m in th e North th at countries in th e g lobal South are all at d if f erent stag es of prog ression toward s states mod elled on th e d emocratic capitalist societies of Europe and North America. Th e und erlying assumption is th at d emocratic capitalism is th e world 's only viable political and economic mod el. Auth ors such as Robert Kaplan (1994) and Samuel Hunting ton (1998) g o much f urth er, popularising th e id eas th at certain countries and cultures are more inclined to violence, th at 'ancient eth nic h atred s' are th e cause of many wars, th at th e combi- nation of youth and poverty in many countries in th e South is combustible, and th at th e perpe- trators of th e new wars employ an incompreh ensible brutality. Even more liberal auth ors base th eir analysis of conf lict on a series of 'truth s' th at are accepted as self -evid ent. Th ese includ e th e id ea th at war is larg ely f oug h t by men, acting in f ormal roles as sold iers; th at it is d ef ined and contained with in th e f ramework of state and seek s to acquire or retain state power; th at it is caused by cond itions of poverty and f rustration and f ailure of th e state; and th at wh ile violence ag ainst civilians is wid espread , it is simply an unf ortunate by-prod uct of war. Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 343 Marth a Th ompson Th e work of auth ors lik e Alex De Waal (2001), Mark Duf f ield (1994, 1996, 2001), Ad ele Harmer (Harmer and Macrae 2004; Harmer and Cotterrell 2005), David Keen (2000), Joanna Macrae (2002), Nicola Reind orp (see Macrae et al. 2002), and Slim (1998) ch alleng e th ese assumptions and compel us to question our own way of viewing tod ay's conf licts. Th e d is- ting uish ing ch aracteristic of new conf lict th eory is th at post-Cold War conf licts cannot be f ully und erstood in terms of th e break d own of systems - in oth er word s, f ailures of th e state, eth nic h atred , or resource conf licts - but sh ould be analysed as ind ig enous strateg ies f or ad apting to g lobalisation. Alth oug h th ey all write f rom th eir own areas of specialisation, most of th ese auth ors sh are th e f ollowing observations about contemporary conf lict: * Many internal wars are not simply a f ailure of d evelopment policy: th ey represent new pro- cesses th at seek to resh ape political and economic power. * Th e aim of many insurg encies is not to tak e state power, but to create parallel economic and political sph eres of power th at are link ed into international economic systems. * Many internal wars are partly or f ully sh aped by reactions to g lobalisation and are link ed into international economic and political network s. * Th e resulting 'network wars' h ave d if f erent nod es of inf luence and power, wh ich can sh if t among countries, ind ivid uals, economic systems, and org anisations. * Eth nicity and relig ion d o not cause war, but are used by elites as ways to mobilise populations into war. * Many insurg ents d epend on terror as a means of controlling territory or populations, rath er th an relying on soph isticated weaponry and well-trained troops. Th us, violence ag ainst civi- lians is not an unf ortunate by-prod uct of war but a d eliberate strateg y of control. * Many g overnments employ militia or irreg ular f orces as a ch eap and easy way to red uce costs and circumvent international law. Th e number of non-state actors in war is g rowing , as combat is increasing ly 'privatised '. Th ese may includ e militia, paramilitaries, irreg ular f orces, security companies, warlord s, and private armies. * It is essential to und erstand th e political economy of war and th e actors (at d if f ering levels) f or wh om war is a viable or prof itable concern. * In th e post-Cold War era, th e principles of impartiality and neutrality h ave become increas- ing ly blurred , as Western g overnments seek to apply th e policy of 'coh erence', trying to line up political, economic, d iplomatic, military, and aid actors into th e same overall strateg y.' * Wars are not caused by wid espread poverty and th e f ailure of d evelopment, but by local and reg ional power elites wh o seek to maintain network s of patronag e. Th e auth ors cited above are exceptional analysts of conf lict, and th eir work is essential read ing f or everyone wh o work s in th e f ield s of d evelopment aid , h umanitarian relief , conf lict resolution, and peace build ing . However, th eir writing rarely mentions women and is larg ely g end er-blind (Byrne 1995). Th e new th eories of conf lict h ave so f ar f ailed to bring to lig h t th e d if f erent ways in wh ich such conf lict af f ects th e roles of men and women, or th e relation- sh ips and power balance between th em. We th eref ore need a more g end ered und erstand ing of h ow and wh y contemporary conf licts are d eveloping , wh at h appens to th e people involved in th em, wh ere th e d if f erent poles of power lie, and wh o and wh at moves th em. Below, I outline th ree main areas in wh ich a g end ered analysis is most need ed . Causes of internal wars, and Western strateg ies to sh ape th eir outcomes Duf f ield (2001) and Macrae (2002) question th e 'f ailed state' arg ument, wh ich conveniently both circumvents th e need f or structural transf ormation or questioning of th e international 344 Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 Women, g end er, and conf lict g lobal system and prescribes a better application of th e d emocratic capitalist mod el as th e only log ical way in wh ich to org anise a nation state. Both analysts analyse h ow insurg encies are d eveloping strateg ies of economic and political power th at are not centred on th e state. Wh ile th ere are many g end ered analyses of state build ing (most notably Enloe 2000; Cock burn and Zark ov 2002; Af sh ar 2004; and Klein 2004), th ere is little g end ered analysis of th e increas- ing number of conf licts in wh ich th e state is d isinteg rating and new f orms of power are being f ash ioned (Byrne 1995). Duf f ield (1996, 2001) and Macrae (2002) also analyse Western g eopolitical strateg ies to control and contain conf lict in countries in th e South . Th ey d evelop th e id ea of coh erence, explaining h ow Western d emocracies h ave soug h t to alig n d iplomacy, political aims, economic policy, military actions, and international aid with security objectives as a way to contain con- f lict with in th e bord ers of oth er countries. Macrae f ocuses on th e use of th e d octrine of h uman security with in th e context of 'coh erence'. Feminist analysts h ave beg un to bring a g end ered analysis to th is d octrine, particularly in th e realm of peace k eeping (see, f or example, Af sh ar and Ead e 2004; Broad h ead 2002; Hynd man 2001). Most f eminist analysis, h owever, d oes not ad d ress current conf lict in th e lig h t of th ese new th eories. Western states are using a rang e of measures, f rom sanctions to h umanitarian intervention, to alter th e internal g overnance of countries in th e South (Macrae 2002). From th e bombing of Af g h anistan in 2001 af ter th e attack s on th e USA on 11 September 2001, as th e 'g lobal war on terror' (GWOT) d evelops, th e policies of Islamic countries in relation to women are increas- ing ly being used as a justif ication f or intervention. Moh ammed Haneef Atmar (2001) presents an excellent d issection of Western g overnments' cynical concern f or g end er issues f or reasons of th eir own political convenience. Economic systems and conf lict with in th e g lobal f ramework Keen (2000) examines th e economic eng ines th at d rive and sustain conf lict, arg uing th at th ese must be examined in ord er to und erstand th e causes. An increasing number of stud ies, such as th ose by Ph ilippe Le Billon (2000) and Sarah Collinson (2002), consid er th e political economy of war. Since neith er insurg ents nor g overnments can now d epend on superpower patronag e, th ey h ave h ad to f ind new ways to f und wars, includ ing trad ing in d rug s and arms, sex traf f ick - ing , and illicit resource extraction. Th ese and oth er f und ing strateg ies are now embed d ed in international economic and f inancial systems (Duf f ield 2001; Keen 2000). Wh ile th ere are g ood stud ies of h ow women d evelop livelih ood strateg ies in situations of conf lict (f or example, Pain and Lautze 2002; El Bush ra 2004), th ese larg ely country-specif ic stud ies h ave not been tied into a g end ered analysis of th e g lobal economic systems th at d rive and sustain conf lict. New types of insurg encies: th eir objectives and use of violence Wh ile nation states lik e Af g h anistan, Burund i, th e Democratic Republic of th e Cong o (DRC), and Somalia appear to be weak or d isinteg rating , new sph eres of economic and political power th at d epend on continual instability are being constructed with in th em (Duf f ield 2001). In such situations, and also in strong er states such as Ug and a and Colombia, brutality is increasing ly th e central weapon of war. It is used both by rebel armies wh o use terror in place of manpower and soph isticated weaponry, and by paramilitaries d eployed by g overnments in ord er to d uck responsibility f or war crimes and avoid g iving g round s f or h umanitarian intervention. Max Glaser (2005) h as prod uced a g ood up-to-d ate stud y on Armed Non-State Actors (ANSAs), with matrices to h elp h umanitarians to f ig ure out h ow to eng ag e with th em. However, since Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 345 Marth a Th ompson th is stud y is g end er-blind , it will not h elp h umanitarians to eng ag e with th e g end ered reality of th ese non-state actors. Rebel g roups such as th e Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in Sierra Leone, th e Lord 's Resistance Army (LRA) in Ug and a, and th e various armed g roups in th e eastern Cong o h ave k id napped g irls and women f or use in sexual, military, and log istics roles. Th ey h ave f orced th eir combatants to commit h orrif ic acts of sexual abuse and oth er atro- cities th at h ave become th eir k ey mech anisms f or population control. Wh ile th ere h as been some g ood g end ered analysis of th e role of rape and sexual violence in eth nic cleansing and g enocid e, particularly in th e cases of Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwand a, and now Darf ur (Lorentzen and Turpin 1998; Tursh an and Twag iramariya 1998; Mertus 2000; Rees 2002), th ere is f ar less g end ered analysis of h ow th e insurg encies in Ug and a and armed g roups in th e DRC operate and successf ully alter social relationsh ips th roug h th e wid espread violation of cultural norms and g end er id entities. Th e increasing role of non-state actors in war is a k ey element in new th eories about conf lict, but th ere are as yet too f ew g end ered analyses of th ese actors' g oals and h ow th ey build and wield power. Literature on g end er and conf lict You need to cast a wid e net wh en look ing f or literature on g end er and conf lict. Apart f rom Cynth ia Cock burn, Cynth ia Enloe, Dyan Mazurana, and Sand ra Wh itworth , many f eminists are eith er writing about conf lict f rom th eir particular areas of expertise, or f ocusing on a specif ic national or reg ional conf lict rath er th an d oing a g lobal analysis. Auth ors on g end er and conf lict come f rom f ield s as d iverse as anth ropolog y, h uman rig h ts, g eog raph y, g end er stud ies, law, and political sciences, and many are actively involved in h ealth , h umanitarian work , conf lict resol- ution, peace k eeping , and solid arity activism. However, th ey tend not to ad d ress th e wid er d ynamic of conf lict as g lobal process; instead th ey concentrate th eir attention on th e particulars of a conf lict in a certain time and place and its ef f ects on women, on men, and on th eir relation- sh ips. Wh ile such specif ic stud ies are absolutely essential, th is f ocus on th e particular may be one of th e main reasons wh y particular stud ies of g end er and conf lict are not tied into a more g lobal analysis. A pleth ora of g ood solid work on g end er and conf lict beg an to f lourish in th e 1980s. Th e report of an Oxf am GB work sh op on 'Gend er, Development and Conf lict' was a break th roug h f rom an aid perspective, d emonstrating h ow conf lict af f ected women d if f erently f rom men (El Bush ra and Piza-Lopez 1984). From th e Institute of Development Stud ies (IDS) at th e University of Sussex, Brid g et Byrne (1995) mad e th e critical link f rom Enloe's g end er analysis of masculinity in war to th eories of conf lict and issues in h umanitarian work , alth oug h h er analysis d oes not includ e enoug h of th e new th ink ing on contemporary conf lict. Julie Mertus (2000) provid es a valuable source on th e ef f ects of both war and h umanitarian relief on women, but rath er th an examining wh y war h as d eveloped in th ese ways, sh e look s at h ow it is experienced by women. Fiona Fox of CAFOD look ed critically at th e cond itionality implicit in th e 'new h umanitarianism' (Fox 2001).Th e volume ed ited by Haleh Af sh ar and Deborah Ead e (2004) is an excellent collection of women's analysis of th e impact of war and peace k eeping f rom d if f erent parts of th e world , unique in its g eog raph ic bread th . Th ere are many examples of excellent place-specif ic work , of wh ich th e f ollowing is only a h and f ul. Jud y El Bush ra (2004) of f ers a perceptive account of th e g end ered impact of war on women in f ive Af rican countries, mak ing women visible in th e political economies of conf lict in th ose societies. Jud ith Zur (1998), an anth ropolog ist, h as written an auth oritative portrait of th e g end ered use of terror by Guatemalan paramilitaries as a f orm of social control over women, wh ile Rita Manch and a (2001) illustrates women's experience of conf lict in a spectrum of Asian conf licts. 346 Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 Women, g end er, and conf lict Its h ig h quality notwith stand ing , I would arg ue th at th is work need s to be carried f urth er in two reg ard s. As stated earlier, most of th e literature on g end er and conf lict seems to be written in parallel with th e new th eories of conf lict, with out eith er of th e d ebates eng ag ing with th e oth er. Analyses of g end er and conf lict urg ently need to intersect with and eng ag e with new th eories of conf lict. Th ere is a consid erable volume of g end ered analysis of trad itional conf lict th eory, includ ing women' s experience in g uerrilla movements in El Salvad or, Sri Lank a, and Namibia d uring th e Cold War (Kampwirth 2002; Manch and a 2001). However, with th e excep- tion of auth ors such as Cynth ia Enloe, th ere is very little g end ered analysis of th e reasons wh y insurg encies are now f ig h ting in d if f erent ways. Second ly, wh ile some place-specif ic stud ies touch on aspects of political economy, th ere is little literature th at link s th ese with th e larg er d ebates in ord er to g ive us a compreh ensive g end ered view of th e d ynamics of contemporary conf lict. Gend er and conf lict literature and new th eories of conf lict Alth oug h th ere is a g reat need f or more g end ered analysis of th e new th eories of conf lict, a f ew writers h ave been d oing seminal work in th at area. With in th e conf ines of th is article, it is only possible to h ig h lig h t th e book s and articles th at I h ave f ound most h elpf ul in bring ing a g end ered und erstand ing to th e th ree areas id entif ied in th e introd uctory section. Causes of internal wars and th e role of th e West Dyan Mazurana's ch apter, 'Gend er and th e causes and consequences of armed conf lict', in Mazurana et al. 2005 is th e most compreh ensive g end ered analysis to d ate of th e new th eories about th e causes of conf lict. Mazurana successf ully weaves a g end er analysis into th e intersec- tions of g lobalisation and conf lict, incorporating many of th e k ey ch alleng es to mainstream assumptions about war. Th e streng th of th is ed ited volume is in both bring ing a g end ered analy- sis to peace k eeping and h uman security and incorporating th e new th eories of conf lict into a g end ered analysis, particularly in relation to h uman security. Th e introd uction to th is ed ited volume also provid es a compreh ensive, g end ered analysis of conf lict. Th e ch apter by Ruth Jacobson provid es two g end ered h istories of th e conf licts in Mozambique and Ang ola, with a f ocus on h ow th e international community could h ave learned (but d id not) f rom th e g ood examples of g end er sensitivity at th e end of h ostilities in Mozambique. Wh ile Jacobson d oes not really relate to th e new th eories of conf lict, th e way in wh ich sh e analyses g end er roles could easily be applied to th em. In Sites of Violence: Gend er and Conf lict Zones, Wenona Giles and Jennif er Hynd man, both in th eir introd uction and in th eir conclud ing ch apter, 'New d irections f or f eminist research and politics', g ive a g end ered analysis of some aspects of conf lict th eory, touch ing on political economy and h uman security and g end er. Th e ch apter by Ed ith Klein examines th e intersec- tions between g lobalisation, political violence, and social transf ormation in th e f ormer Yug oslavia. Klein d evelops a g end ered f ramework tool f or tracing th e link ag es among th e poli- tics of g lobalisation, conf lict, and th e increased oppression of women (p. 293); and provid es a g ood g end ered analysis of wh at sh e calls 'coercive constitutionalism' and th e g eo-politics of intervention in th e Balk ans. Alth oug h it resembles th e explanations g iven by Macrae and Duf f ield of wh y Western d emocracies use h umanitarian intervention to resh ape th e land scapes of conf lict, Klein d oes not d raw on th eir work . If sh e were to tie coercive constitutionalism into a broad er examination of th e political und erpinning s of g lobalisation, h er analysis would be broug h t into th e wid er d ebates on conf lict th eory. Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 347 Marth a Th ompson Th is ed ited volume is meant to 'analyze th e g end ered , nationalized , racialized and economic d imensions of violent conf lict and th e ways th ese ph enomena sh ape th e wag ing of contempor- ary war'. Its primary f ocus is th e impact of war-related violence on women, and many of th e ch apters are written by women wh o are cond ucting research in conf lict zones. Th e ed itors also d o an excellent job of pointing to f uture areas f or f eminist research . Ag ain, h owever, th e book seems to h ave been written in parallel with much of th e new conf lict th eory, since th e ed itors and contributors never really locate th eir work with in th e f ramework of th e d ebates sh aping th e analysis of contemporary wars. Th is may explain th e state-centric perspec- tive ad opted by most of th e contributors. Th e exception is th e outstand ing and provocatively titled ch apter by Aud rey Mack lin on th e role played by Talisman, a Canad ian oil company, in th e conf lict in south ern Sud an. How g lobal economic systems intersect with conf lict In h er book Th e Sh ad ows of War, Carolyn Nord strom tak es apart th e complex scenario of people trying to sell tomatoes in a war zone, and th eir link s to th e international economy, and lays out th e pieces on th e table so th at we can und erstand h ow th e link s work . Sh e d oes not g ive an explicitly g end ered analysis of th e political economy of war, but provid es all th e essential elements f or build ing up such an analysis, because sh e bring s to lig h t so many th ing s th at usually remain h id d en. Sh e brilliantly link s th e experiences of men, women, and ch ild ren both insid e and outsid e war zones in Ang ola, and d raws th e lines th at connect rural women surviving war, businesses and people eng ag ed in smug g ling g ood s, and th e international centres of commerce. Th e ch apter by Mack lin ref erred to earlier is a g ood companion piece to Nord strom's work : sh e of f ers a more g end ered stud y of th e link ag es between d isplaced women f rom south ern Sud an wh o were imprisoned in Kh artoum f or brewing beer and th e practices of a Canad ian oil company operating in th eir place of orig in. Political economy is crucial to und erstand ing h ow wars are sustained , f rom th e way in wh ich elites manipulate resources, rig h t d own to th e way in wh ich villag ers ad apt th eir livelih ood strateg ies in ord er to survive (Le Billon 2000). Women, as th e majority of th ose d isplaced by war, both with in bord ers and as ref ug ees, are of ten th e h ead of th eir f amilies. Th ey spend a lot of time 'd iversif ying th eir livelih ood strateg ies'. Women wash d iamond s, smug g le d rug s, f arm crops f or insurg ents, are used as war slaves in resource extraction, sell f ood to insur- g ents and g overnment f orces alik e, act as porters f or rebels. In oth er word s, th ey are an integ ral part of th e political economy of war and th e f inancing of war. We need many more stud ies to h elp us to und erstand h ow women are af f ected by and af f ect th ese sh ad ow war economies. Conf lict analysts of ten 'locate' women primarily in roles d ef ined by h umanitarian relief terms, i.e. ref ug ee or d isplaced . Arturo Escobar (1995) arg ues th at 'th e power of th e d evelop- ment apparatus to name women in ways th at lead us to tak e f or g ranted certain d escriptions and solutions h as to be mad e visible' (p. xx). Would not analysis of women in conf lict situations also be d if f erent if women were primarily 'located ' as actors in th e political economy of war? We cannot beg in th at k ind of analysis unless we can mak e women's roles visible. Analysis th at maintains women's invisibility contributes to th e concept of 'womenand ch ild ren', th e term th at Cynth ia Enloe so g raph ically uses to d escribe h ow we lump th ose populations tog eth er as f aceless victims of war. New types of insurg ency Contributors to Giles and Hynd man (2004) provid e h elpf ul g end ered analyses of th e uses and construction of nationalist and /or eth nic id entities as a tool f or mobilisation. Th ey are, h owever, 348 Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 Women, g end er, and conf lict rooted in a state-centred analysis and illustrate th e need f or equally d etailed g end ered analysis of h ow id entities are constructed in th e new k ind s of insurg ency, new paramilitaries, and par- allel sph eres of power. Wh en auth ors f ail to look at new und erstand ing s of h ow parallel sph eres of economic and political power are emerg ing in situations of conf lict, th ey consequently f ail to ad d ress th e g end er politics th at sh ape and inf orm th em. Mark Duf f ield (2001) and David Keen (2000) both examine h ow insurg ents wh o are f ig h ting ag ainst th e state h ave ch ang ed th e ways in wh ich th ey prosecute war since th e end of th e Cold War, and th ey id entif y f und amental sh if ts in th e insurg ents' relationsh ips with civilians. Insur- g ents must now support th emselves, and th ey d o so by siph oning of f relief supplies, controlling resource extraction, link ing up with international mark ets, eng ag ing in illicit trad e, and control- ling civilians in th eir areas of inf luence. Many such g roups f eel no need to build a political project with th e civilian population in territory th at th ey occupy. Rath er th an even paying lip service to it, in places lik e Sierra Leone and Ug and a, part of th e mod us operand i of th e rebel g roups is to use brutal terror in ord er to exercise control over civilians. Th ese armed non- state actors d epend on th e wid espread k id napping of civilians f or use as combatants, cook s, porters, work ers, sexual companions, and spies, f orcing th em to comply by mak ing th em witness or participate in g ruesome attack s on oth er civilians. As d ocumented extensively by Human Rig h ts Watch (2002, 2003) and Amnesty International (1999), rebels in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ug and a f ound th at f orcing k id napped civilians to beat oth er people to d eath or amputate limbs und er th e th reat of torture proved a brutally ef f ective way to control larg e populations with only a limited supply of weapons. Neith er Duf f ield nor Keen of f ers a g end er analysis of h ow th ese rebel g roups operate, but Dyan Mazurana and Kristoph er Carlson d o so in th eir 2004 report From Combat to Community: Women and Girls in Sierra Leone. Th ey rend er women in th ese rebel and paramilitary g roups visible in analysing h ow g irls and young women participated in th e war in Sierra Leone and sh owing h ow g irl sold iers in Sierra Leone f ared in d isarmament, d emobilisation, and reinte- g ration (DDR) prog rammes sponsored by th e UN and th e World Bank . Mazurana and Carlson sh ow th at th e rebels need ed captive 'wives' and ch ild ren in ord er to maintain th eir war systems, and k id napped young women and g irls f or th at reason. Many of th ese women and g irls also f oug h t, as well as work ing as spies, cook s, h ealth work ers, or porters. Mazurana and Carlson pay close attention to th e d if f erences among th ese g irls and women and f ind th at f orcibly abd ucted command ers' wives were k ey to th e entire operation of th e rebel f orces. Th ese women controlled th e d istribution of loot, supervised operations wh en th eir captor-h usband s were away, and d ecid ed on f ig h ting strateg ies. As captives th em- selves, some command ers' wives also tried to use th eir power to protect captive g irls f rom sexual abuse by oth er male combatants. Much th at is written about abd ucted women and g irls in f ig h ting f orces simplif ies th e issue into male sold iers and k id napped g irls wh o are sexu- ally exploited . Mazurana and Carlson provid e insig h ts into h ow rebel lead ers manipulate and use g end er in ord er to mak e th eir warf are systems viable, and th e ef f ects on th ose g irls and women and th eir communities both d uring th e conf lict and in reconstruction. Th e stud y is a g ood example of th e k ind of g end ered analysis th at need s to be d one, and it d emonstrates wh y such analysis is so necessary. Its d etailed research reveals th at th e roles th at women played in th e rebel g roups went f ar beyond being simple 'sex slaves' or 'camp f ol- lowers', sh owing rath er th at th ey were essential to th e f unctioning of th e war systems. Mazurana and Carlson also reveal h ow little th e f emales in th e rebel f orces benef ited f rom DRR prog rammes, compared with th e males, precisely because th ere h ad been no g end ered analysis of th e f ig h ting f orces by th ose wh o planned and implemented th e prog rammes. One very important way to mak e women's roles visible as th e nature of conf lict evolves is to id entif y and unravel th e d if f erent g end er policies of d if f erent actors in war. Th is means Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 349 Marth a Th ompson und erstand ing th e g end er policies d evised by th e controlling g roup to ensure th at women and men will be more ef f ective in carrying out th eir roles with in th e war system. In th is way, we can see th at th e RUF in Sierra Leone, a g roup inf amous f or crud e amputations, brutal violence, wid espread sexual abuse, and k id napping of ch ild ren to serve as th eir sold iers, h ad a very clear g end er policy. Wh ile it was brutal and subjug ated women, th e RUF certainly h ad a g end ered analysis of h ow to control civilian populations, as well as a g end er-specif ic policy on th e k id - napping and use of ch ild ren and women. Two excellent reports by Human Rig h ts Watch (2002, 2003) on Eastern Cong o and Sierra Leone g ive insig h ts into a g end ered analysis of th e d if f erent roles and power relationsh ips of men and women, civilian and combatant, in th e insurg encies, includ ing th e cultural norms and g end er roles th at are consistently violated by th e f ig h ters. Th ese reports provid e an excellent basis f or build ing a more complex g end ered analysis of non-state actors and th eir meth od s of wag ing war. Gend ered violence in contemporary warf are It h as been arg ued th at violence ag ainst civilians is not an avoid able or neg ative consequence of war, but a d eliberate and necessary strateg y of th e cond uct of contemporary wars (Duf f ield 1994, 2001; Mazurana 2005). Wh ile th ere is an important bod y of work on g end er violence th at examines rape, sexual abuse, and oth er types of violence ag ainst women in war, much of it f ocuses on rape as a weapon of eth nic warf are. Important literature on th is came out of th e collapse of Yug oslavia, and some f ocused on Rwand a and latterly on Darf ur (see, f or example, Abd ela 2004; Copeland 1998; Tursh an and Twag iramariya 1998; Manch and a 2001; and Ging rich and Leaning 2004). Only a f ew writers such as Mazurana (2005) and Mack lin (2004) tak e up th e insig h ts of Mark Duf f ield and oth ers, th at th is type of violence is not simply a by-prod uct of war but is an org anic part of h ow it is wag ed . Nor is rape primarily a tool of eth nic warf are, alth oug h it seems to be a f airly universal and ef f ective strateg y of mili- tary, insurg ent, and non-state armed f orces f or th e control of territory and populations. Th is beg s a g end ered analysis of h ow combatants and th ose running tod ay's wars see sexual violence as part of th eir strateg y. Cynth ia Enloe h as consistently d riven h ome th e point th at construction of masculinity matters in militarisation. In h er ch apter, 'All th e men are in militias, all th e women are victims' (2004), sh e und ertak es a th oroug h analysis of h ow Serbian militias used constructs of masculinity to mak e a 21-year-old casual work er rape Muslim women as part of h is war ef f ort. Her work raises questions about h ow war lead ers d ef ine g end er relations and g end er id entities so th at f ig h ters accept rape as such a universal strateg y, even wh en it violates cultural norms. To move f rom d enouncing rape as a war crime to f ind ing out wh y g eneralised brutal sexual violence is such an important weapon in mod ern warf are, we need more stud ies lik e Enloe's of th e g end er policies of th ose armed f orces th at also eng ag e with th e d iscussion of new th eories of conf lict, particularly in ch alleng ing th e 'weak states' arg ument. Parallel sph eres of political and economic interests Wh at roles d o men and women play in constructing th e parallel sph eres of political and econ- omic interest in conf lict zones in th e South ? Wh at are th e impacts of living in th ese parallel sph eres f or men and women at d if f erent levels of power? Wh at are th e g end ered id entities upon wh ich th ese sph eres are built, and h ow d o th e participation of men and th e participation of women d if f er? Enloe (2004) ad d resses precisely th ese points wh en sh e examines th e role of militarised masculinity in creating and maintaining one sph ere of parallel power, by tak ing a caref ul look at th e area controlled by th e f ormer warlord (now statesman), Ismael Kh an, in Af g h anistan. Enloe's d escription of Kh an's sexual politics and th e role th at militarised 350 Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 Women, g end er, and conf lict masculinity plays in th e US military support f or h im und erlines an urg ent need to d evelop a f eminist analysis of th e warlord ph enomenon. Given th e Bush Ad ministration's incorporation of g end er oppression into its rationale f or bombing Af g h anistan and f or th e war on Iraq, more th oroug h analysis of th e role of g end er relations in th e mech anics of h ow warlord s claim and maintain power is extremely important. Ch ris Dolan (2002) h as examined th e link s between violent masculinity and weak states in th e Ug and an conf lict, conclud ing th at weak states d o not allow alternative masculinities to evolve. Th is is an intrig uing ang le, but it need s to be f ar more d eveloped . For example, Ug and a is not a weak state in th e sense th at Somalia, th e DRC, and Af g h anistan are. However, Dolan's examination of th e f rustrations caused by men's expectations and experi- ences of masculinity in north ern Ug and a, and h ow th ose f rustrations are played out violently in th e larg er political land scape, is a h elpf ul lens f or g end er and conf lict analysis. Conclusion Cynth ia Enloe h as always mad e th e point th at masculinity matters and must be tak en into con- sid eration wh en d oing a g end ered analysis of conf lict. Such analyses are even more important in th is New Ag e of Empire (Enloe 2004). Th e auth ors wh om I h ave h ig h lig h ted in th is literature review are among th ose wh ose work is moving f eminist insig h ts into th e f ield of new th eories of conf lict. A g end ered analysis must now be broug h t into th e new d ebates on h ow and wh y war is wag ed tod ay. Note 1. And rew Natsios, th e Director of USAID, g ave a g ood illustration of coh erence in May 2003, wh en h e told th e US aid ag encies th at th eir aims in Iraq were part of US g overnment g oals. Ref erences Abd ela, L. (2004) 'Kosovo: missed opportunities, lessons f or th e f uture', in H. Af sh ar and D. Ead e (ed s.). Af sh ar, H. (2004) 'Women and wars: some trajectories toward s a f eminist peace' in H. Af sh ar and D. Ead e (ed s.) 2004. Af sh ar, H. and D. Ead e (ed s.) (2004) Development, Women and War: Feminist Perspectives, Oxf ord : Oxf am GB. Amnesty International (1999) 'Sierra Leone', in 1999 Annual Report, available at www.amnesty.org / ailib/aireport/ar99/af r5 l.h tm (retrieved 7 October 2005). Broad h ead , L. (2002) 'Repack ag ing notions of security: a sk eptical f eminist', in S. Jacobs, R. Jacobson, and J. March bank (ed s.) States of Conf lict, Gend er, Violence and Resistance, Lond on: Zed Book s. Byrne, B. (1995) Gend er, Conf lict and Development: Volume I: Overview, BRIDGE, Brig h ton: Institute of Development Stud ies. Cock burn, C. (2004) 'Th e continuum of violence: a g end er perspective on war and peace' in W. Giles and J. Hynd man (ed s.) 2004. Cock burn, C. and D. Zark ov (ed s.) (2002), Th e Postwar Moment: Militaries, Masculinities and Inter- national Peacek eeping , Lond on: Lawrence & Wish art. Collinson, S. (2002) Politically Inf ormed Humanitarian Prog ramming : Using a Political Economy Approach , Humanitarian Practice Network Paper 41, Lond on: Overseas Development Institute. Copeland , R. (1998) 'Surf acing g end er: reconceptualizing crimes ag ainst women in time of war', in L. Lorentzen and J. Turpin (ed s.) 1998. Dolan, C. (2002) 'Collapsing masculinities and weak states', in F. Cleaver (ed .) Mak ing Men Matter, Men, Masculinities and Gend er Relations in Development, Lond on: Zed Book s. Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 351 Marth a Th ompson Duf f ield , M. (1994) 'Complex emerg encies and th e crisis of d evelopmentalism', IDS Bulletin 25(4): 37-45. Duf f ield , M. (1996) 'Symph ony of th e d amned : racial d iscourse, complex political emerg encies and h umanitarian aid ', Disasters 20(3): 173-93. Duf f ield , M. (2001) Global Governance and th e New Wars: Th e Merg ing of Development and Security, Lond on: Zed Book s. El-Bush ra, J. (2004) 'Fused in combat: g end er relations and armed conf lict' in H. Af sh ar and D. Ead e (ed s.) 2004. El-Bush ra, J. and E. Piza-Lopez (1984) Development in Conf lict: Th e Gend er Dimension, Oxf ord : Oxf am UK and Ireland . Enloe, C. (2000) Maneuvers: Th e International Politics of Militarizing Women's Lives, Berk eley, CA: University of Calif ornia Press. Enloe, C. (2004) Th e Curious Feminist: Search ing f or Women in th e New Ag e of Empire Berk eley, CA: University of Calif ornia Press. Escobar, Arturo (1995) Encountering Development: Th e Mak ing and Unmak ing of th e Th ird World , Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Fox, F. (2001) 'New h umanitarianism: d oes it provid e a moral banner f or th e 21st century?', Disasters 25(4): 275-89. Giles, W. and J. Hynd man (ed s.) (2004) Sites of Violence: Gend er and Conf lict Zones, Berk eley, CA: University of Calif ornia Press. Ging rich , T. and J. Leaning (2004) 'Th e Use of Rape as a Weapon of War in th e Conf lict in Darf ur, Sud an', paper prepared f or USAID/OTI und er th e auspices of th e Harvard Sch ool of Public Health and th e Franqois-Xavier Bag noud Center f or Health and Human Rig h ts, Boston, MA. Glaser, M. P. (2005) Humanitarian Eng ag ement with Non-State Armed Actors: Th e Parameters of Neg otiated Access, Humanitarian Practice Network Paper 51, Lond on: Overseas Development Institute. Guatam, S., A. Bansk ota and R. Manch and a (2001) 'Wh ere th ere are no men: women in th e Maoist insurg ency in Nepal', in R. Manch and a (ed .) 2001. Haneef Atmar, Md . (2001) 'Politicization of h umanitarian aid and its consequences f or Af g h ans', Disasters 25(4): 321-30. Harmer, A. and L. Cotterrell (2005) Diversity in Donorsh ip: th e Ch ang ing Land scape of Of f icial Humanitarian Aid , Humanitarian Policy Group Report 20, Lond on: Overseas Development Institute. Harmer, A. and J. Macrae (ed s.) (2004) Beyond th e Continuum: th e Ch ang ing Role of Aid Policy in Protracted Crises, Humanitarian Policy Group Brief ing Paper 16, Lond on: Overseas Development Institute. Human Rig h ts Watch (2002) Th e War With in th e War, Sexual Violence Ag ainst Women and Girls in th e Eastern Cong o, New York , NY: Human Rig h ts Watch . Human Rig h ts Watch (2003) 'We'll Kill You If You Cry': Sexual Violence in Sierra Leone, New York , NY: Human Rig h ts Watch . Hunting ton, S. (1998) Th e Clash of Civilizations and th e Remak ing of World Ord er, New York , NY: Simon & Sch uster. Hynd man, J. (2001) Manag ing Displacement: ref ug ees and th e politics of h umanitarianism, Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. Jacobson, R. (2005) 'Gend er, war and peace in Mozambique and Ang ola: ad vances and absences' in D. Mazurana, A. Raven Roberts, and J. Parpart (ed s.) 2005. Kampwirth , K. (2002) Women and Guerrilla Movements: Nicarag ua, El Salvad or, Ch iapas and Cuba, Pennsylvania, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press. Kaplan, R. (1994) 'Th e coming anarch y', Th e Atlantic Month ly, February: 44-76. Keen, D. (2000) 'Incentives and d isincentives f or violence' in D. M. Malone (ed .) Greed and Grievance, International Peace Acad emy, Bould er CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000. Klein, E. (2004) 'Th e g end ered impact of multilateralism in th e Post Yug oslav States', in W. Giles and J. Hynd man (ed s.) 2004. Korac, M. (2004) 'War, f lig h t and exile; g end ered violence among ref ug ee women f rom Post-Yug oslav States', in W. Giles and J. Hynd man (ed s.) 2004. 352 Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 Women, g end er, and conf lict Le Billon, P. (2000) Th e Political Economy of War: Wh at Relief Ag encies Need to Know, Humanitarian Practice Network Paper 33, Lond on: Overseas Development Institute. Lorentzen, L. and J. Turpin (1998) Th e Women and War Read er, New York , NY: New York University Press. Mack lin, A. (2004) 'Lik e oil and water, with a match ; militarized commerce, armed conf lict and h uman security in Sud an', in W. Giles and J. Hynd man (ed s.) 2004. Macrae, J. (ed .) (2002) Th e New Humanitarianisms: a Review of Trend s in Global Humanitarian Action, Humanitarian Policy Group Report 11, Lond on: Overseas Development Institute. Macrae, J., S. Collinson, M. Buch anan-Smith , N. Reind orp, A. Sch mid t, T. Mowjee and A. Harmer (2002) Uncertain Power: th e Ch ang ing Role of Of f icial Donors in Humanitarian Action, Humanitarian Policy Group Report 12, Lond on: Overseas Development Institute. Manch and a, R. (ed .) (2001) Women, War and Peace in South Asia, New Delh i: Sag e. Mazurana, D. and Carlson, K. (2004) From Combat to Community: Women and Girls in Sierra Leone, Cambrid g e, MA: Women's Policy Commission, Harvard University. Mazurana, D., A. Raven-Roberts and J. Parpart (ed s.) (2005) Gend er, Conf lict, and Peacek eeping , Bould er, CO: Rowman & Littlef ield . Mertus, J. (2000) War's Of f ensive on Women, West Hartf ord , CT: Kumarian Press. Nord strom, C. (2004) Th e Sh ad ows of War: Violence, Power and International Prof iteering in th e Twenty-f irst Century, Berk eley, CA: University of Calif ornia Press. Pain, A. and S. Lautze (2002) Ad d ressing Livelih ood s in Af g h anistan, Af g h anistan Research and Evalu- ation Unit Issues Paper Series, Kabul: AREU. Rees, M. (2002) 'International intervention in Bosnia-Herzeg ovina: th e cost of ig noring g end er', in C. Cock burn and D. Zark ov (ed s.) Th e Postwar Moment: Militaries, Masculinities and International Peacek eeping , Lond on: Lawrence & Wish art. Slim, H. (1998) 'International h umanitarianism's eng ag ement with civil war in th e 1990's: a g lance at evolving practice and th eory', A Brief ing Paper f or ActionAid UK, publish ed in th e Journal of Humani- tarian Assistance, available at www.jh a.ac/articles/aO33.h tm (retrieved 29 Aug ust 2005). Tursh an, M. and C. Twag iramariya (ed s.) (1998) Wh at Women Do in Wartime: Gend er and Conf lict in Af rica, Lond on: Zed Book s. d e Waal, A. (2001) Wh o Fig h ts? Wh o Cares?, Trenton, NJ: Af rica World Press. Wh itworth , S. (1998) 'Gend er, race and th e politics of peacek eeping ', in E. Moxon-Browne (ed .) A Future f or Peacek eeping ?, Lond on: Macmillan. Zur, J. (1998) Violent Memories: Mayan War Wid ows in Guatemala, New York , NY: Westview Press. Th e auth or Marth a Th ompson is a social scientist and community h ealth prof essional with over 25 years' experience in international d evelopment. As prog ramme manag er f or h uman rig h ts in emerg encies and d isasters at th e Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC), a non-sectarian org anisation th at promotes h uman rig h ts and social justice world wid e, h er recent f ocus h as been on post-tsunami work , particularly in Aceh and Sri Lank a. Sh e also lectures at Brand eis University and at th e Feinstein International Famine Center at Tuf ts University. Sh e h as extensive experience of work ing in situations of prolong ed armed con- f lict, h aving work ed in Central America f or various international and local NGOs f rom 1981 to 1995, af ter wh ich sh e became Oxf am Canad a's representative f or Cuba and th e Eastern Caribbean, based in Havana. Contact d etails: Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, 130 Prospect Street, Cambrid g e, MA 02139, USA. <prog rams@uusc.org > <mth ompso@brand eis.ed u> Development in Practice, Volume 16, Numbers 3&4, June 2006 353