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Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link
Author(s): Cynthia Enloe (Author)
- Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
- Publication Date: 9 Feb. 2007
- Language: English
- Print length: 200 pages
- ISBN-10: 0742541118
- ISBN-13: 9780742541115
Book Description
Written by one of the world’s leading feminist scholars, this masterful and provocative book considers the ways women’s desires to be patriotic yet feminine and men’s fears of being feminized explain how militarism is being globalized-and thus what it will take to roll back militarization anywhere. Through explorations of how governments think so narrowly about “national security,” of how postwar reconstruction efforts have marginalized women, of how ideas about feminization were used to humiliate male prisoners in Abu Ghraib, and of why “camo” has become a fashion statement, Cynthia Enloe unravels militarism’s both blatant and subtle workings. Focusing her lens on the “big picture” of international politics and on the small picture of women’s and men’s complex everyday lives, Enloe challenges us to recognize militarism in all its forms.
Editorial Reviews
Review
In this book based on her 2003 lecture series in Japan, Enloe continues to explore the ways in which a feminist curiosity can unravel connections between globalization and militarism… Enloe carefully leads her readers through a topic, using jargon-free language, interesting and relevant examples, and clear logic. She engages readers, allowing them to add their own insights and connections to the text. Each chapter shows how a master teacher can open the thinking of her students. It is easy to think of militarism as something that happens at the state level and outside the purview of individuals. The author demonstrates how militarism also happens at the local and personal levels, as well as at the global level, and how everyone contributes to and shares in its impact. Highly recommended. CHOICE This text features warm and accessible conversations… The beauties of this book reside in its use of real-life examples to illustrate otherwise abstract theoretical ideas… In sum, Enloe has done it again. Linking academia and activism through her commitment to progressive change, she writes for undergraduates, academics, and activists who appreciate both intellectual wonder and clarity of expression. — Laura K. Landolt, Virginia Wesleyan College Globalizations Cynthia Enloe dares to name the elephant in the living room: the deep patriarchal norm that underpins ‘masculine’ military solutions and the exploitation of ‘feminine’ workers and consumers globally. No man or woman who wants to make change or make sense of the world should be without Globalization and Militarism: Feminists Make the Link, a readable, revelatory, practical guide to demilitarizing and democratizing our minds and policies-before it’s too late. — Gloria Steinem Cynthia Enloe was the first to open the eyes of many of us to the role gender plays in international politics. She now focuses on the ways in which globalization and militarization feed off each other, demonstrating yet again that taking women’s lives seriously is one of the keys to reliable explanations of how the world works. — Ken Booth, University of Wales, Aberystwyth Cynthia Enloe turns her keen intelligence, clear prose, and feminist curiosity to the buzz words ‘globalization’ and ‘militarization.’ In this book, she transforms our understandings of them, from abstract ideas into concrete step-by-step gendered processes that we can both analyze and change. Her insights into their relationship to each other-that is, the globalization of militarization and the militarization of globalization-are crucial for any student or citizen trying to make sense of today’s world. — Carol Cohn, Boston Consortium on Gender, Security, and Human Rights Cynthia Enloe deftly explores the sometimes subtle (sometimes less so) ways in which globalized production and globalized war-making follow and sustain one another, and shows us also how militarism enters into the most intimate areas of our lives. But in classic Enloe fashion, she also reminds her readers of the varied and creative acts of resistance engaged in by women and men around the world, the ‘simultaneous attention to the personal, the local, and the global’ aimed at fostering a demilitarized world. — Sandra Whitworth, York University
About the Author
Cynthia Enloe is research professor in the Department of International Development, Community, and Social Change and the Women’s Studies Program at Clark University. Her books include the groundbreaking Bananas, Beaches and Bases: Making Feminist Sense of International Politics.
