PLSC 102 - Feminism & Decolonial Theory

Feminism (IR Theory)

Approach examining gender hierarchies and the role of gender in international politics.

Empirical Feminism

Centers women and historically feminized / overlooked issues in IR analysis.

• “Where are the women?”

Analytical Feminism

Identifies gender biases embedded in IR concepts and practices.

• “How is the system rigged?”

Normative Feminism

Advocates alternative systems based on equity and feminist insights.

• “What can we do to make it fair?”

Gender Hierarchies

Systems that privilege some genders over others and shape political outcomes.

Patriarchy

System of male-dominated political and social power.

Technostrategic Language

Abstract and euphemistic language used by defense experts that can obscure human consequences and normalize military violence.

Gender-Based Violence

Violence targeted at individuals based on gender.

Decolonial Theory

Approach that challenges Eurocentric assumptions in IR and foregrounds perspectives historically marginalized by colonialism.

Colonial Order

International system shaped by colonial and imperial power.

Decolonial Theory’s Critique of Paradigms

Decolonial Theory argument that traditional paradigms often overlook colonialism, race, slavery, dispossession, and non-Western experiences.