Feminism and International Relations

'This book would serve as an excellent course text book...an interesting and extremely useful addition to contemporary international relations theorizing.' - International Affairs 'Whitworth provides a useful overview of various feminist theories and extends this literature with insights from international political economy and critical theory...Her detailed analysis makes a valuable contribution; she demonstrates how actors can mobilize to promote or contest particular conceptions of gender roles embodied in organizations, conceptions that have tremendous impact on the life conditions of common people throughout the world.' - N.W.Gallagher, Choice '...a welcome addition to a new and fast-growing literature that is beginning to incorporate gender analysis into international relations theory...Feminism and International Relations makes a concise but significant contribution to our understanding of the construction of gender relations over time and its effect on international institutions. Its accessibility and straightforward prose, as well as its skilful integration of feminist theory with critical approaches to international relations, are to be commended...offers some important insights for us all. ' - American Political Science Review This book provides a critique of the discipline of international relations from a feminist perspective. The critique is developed, first theoretically. Then the author examines both feminist theories and theories of international relations with a view to developing an approach to world politics which incorporates an analysis of gender, and gender relations. The critique is secondly developed through the application of the notion of gender to the activities of two international institutions, the International Parenthood Federation and the International Labour Organisation.