Fractious holism: the complex relationship between women and war

Abstract

Feminists have agreed to disagree on the interaction between women and war. This is elucidated by means of a critical assessment of the various positions of feminists regarding comprehensive human security in general and military security in particular. It is argued that a feminist perspective has the potential to raise consciousness and contextualise women’s insecurity by employing gender as a principle of social organisation. This argument is supported by the contention that the relationship between women and war may be characterised as a fractious holism dominated by difference and multiplicity rather than harmony and stability. Such an imperfect holism gives rise to a plurality of ambiguities and complexities in relation to globalisation, militarism, combat and the broadly conceptualised notion of gender violence.