Integrating Feminist International Relations and Feminist State Theories

The proposed project addresses a theory deficit concerning the relationship between gendered states and the gendered dynamics of global politics. It aims to develop a more comprehensive perspective onto the theoretical and empirical interconnections between gender relations at the state and the international level in the context of neo- liberal restructuring. For this purpose, the study integrates two major feminist research traditions feminist state theory and feminist international relations (IR) and applies the developed theory mix in a study of military privatization as a gendered process related to state and global restructuring. Feminist IR and feminist state theory have both put forward gender-sensitive approaches to the relationship between individual lives, the state, and global politics. They have, however, not systematically engaged with each other`s findings. The project thus instigates a more intense dialogue between them to enable a more in-depth understanding of how the gendering of international politics is intertwined with gendered state structures and discourses. Changing military gender relations in the neo-liberal era are used as a starting point for this theory development project. The gendered dimensions of military privatization are investigated as an outcome of the interactions between state and global gender orders. The outsourcing of military security is conceived of as a central element in the reconfiguration of statehood in the context of neo-liberal restructuring. A comparative analysis of this privatization in the United States and the United Kingdom is conducted to gain new insights into the changing state-war-gender- nexus as well as a better understanding of the gendered boundaries between national/international, state/market, and public/private. Several main trends associated with neoliberal restructuring are investigates as `sites of interaction` between the gendered state and the gendered international arena in the context of military privatization: transformation of military labour markets, reduction of transparency and democratic control over military policy, transformation of security regimes, and remasculinization of gender ideologies. It is argued that interactions between gender discrimination within the state and gendered global power relations enhance gender inequality. The gendered dynamics of military privatization are thus not an outcome of state erosion to the advantage of the private military and security industry, but an effect of shifting power relations and struggles within and beyond the state.

This research project investigated the manifold interconnections between gender, the state, and international security in a case study on the outsourcing of military security to private military and security companies (PMSCs). It could be shown that reciprocal relations between state militaries and the private security industry enhanced unequal gender relations in the area of security and defense policy. As employees of PMSCs, women are even more underrepresented than in state militaries. This is largely caused by PMSCs' recruitment strategies which primarily target ex-military personnel from units which were closed off to women until recently and/or in which they remain strongly underrepresented, such as infantry or special forces units. In addition, gender equality policies and measures, which have been implemented in state militaries to a certain degree, do not affect the relatively unregulated private sector. Furthermore, the possibilities for persecuting human rights violations and gender-based violence in the places of deployment of PMSCs are curtailed, because the perpetrators are seen as private individuals rather than representatives of a state's armed forces. Beyond these institutional and legal issues, privatization also affects cultural assumptions, ideals of masculinity, and conceptualizations of (in)security. Security companies frequently draw upon images of the tough, masculine protector to promote their services; masculinity functions as a marketing tool. Women are becoming increasingly unthinkable in the role of protector because companies believe they cannot be marketed accordingly, even though women's abilities to serve in such roles are not generally questioned. As marketized good, security hence becomes reified as a masculinized, militarized domain. These effects are further entrenched by PMSCs' growing role in policy consultancy and risk analysis. Concepts such as comprehensive or human security are shifting out of focus opposite the security of clients, which are primarily states, companies, and wealthy individuals. The security needs of women and marginalized groups are subordinated. Privatization thus affects the concept of security and how it relates to gender-specific insecurities. While debates on the effects of privatization on democracy, the rule of law, and the state's monopoly on violence remain important, the project underscores that this process also needs to be assessed for its gendered implications. This requires constant evaluation of how privatization impacts the security of different stakeholders and how it is compatible with gender equality. This further emphasizes the necessity to widen the UN Women, Peace and Security Agenda to include private security forces. National and international regulation of PMSCs must also increasingly consider gender aspects. Moreover, this research has shown that migration management and border security are becoming growing fields of activity for PMSCs. This means that their influence in a field particularly precarious from a humanitarian and human rights perspective needs to be monitored and regulated as well.