In J. Ann
Tickner’s Essay, A Critique of Morgenthau’s Six Principles of Realism, she
describes how a majority of people view International politics, diplomacy, and
military services as male dominated areas. Women often get overlooked in these
terms and are anticipated to focus on economic issues or matters of justice.
Even if women are found to be in a top position in foreign policy they have to
strive to get the same respect as their male colleagues. One of the reasons why
women are not as well respected in the industry is because people have
misconceptions of what women are capable of doing. A stereotypical view many
have is that women can’t make the decision of an issue dealing with forceful
power. Tickner’s essay is meant to highlight how Morgenthau’s principles focus
on a male dominated perspective and how she added a feminist perspective to
them. By adding a feminist perspective towards his principles she hopes it will
make the international relations field more attainable towards women. Realism
and Morgenthau’s principles focus a great deal on power, if a balance was found
between masculine and feminist theory it could help with current issues facing
international politics.
Morgenthau’s six principles are written in
ways that favor masculinity. His first principle is that international politics
is based off of objective laws that have roots in human nature. Tickner
mentioned Evelyn Fox Keller’s research that the universe is, “represented by concepts and shaped not by
language but only by the demand of logic and experiment” and that knowledge is
socially constructed. In class we discussed how words are often seen as either
masculine or feminine. The word objectivity is viewed as a masculine word while
subjectivity is viewed as a feminine word. Objectivity is absolute while
subjectivity is feasible and said to be irrational. It is vital to think in not
only in an abstract way but in a contextual way, as well. Contrary to Morgenthau’s view, the world
changes constantly and it is crucial that laws are subjective and able to be
changed with time. Different behaviors need to be implemented to prevent
further conflicts between nations. By adding a feminist theory to the
principles it may help prevent future wars. Also adding a feminist viewpoint would
help with issues, such as, economic interdependency that are difficult to
oversee with Morgenthau’s principles.
Cooperation is
also something Morgenthau’s principles lack almost completely. Morgenthau
focuses on complete power and mainly that aspect only. The Feminist theory
targets cooperation rather than competition. Tickner had said that working with
others is empowerment. The component of power is vital in politics and should
not be overlooked but should not be the main focus of a whole ideal. In a study
done by Gilligan, she found that girls are typically more likely to partake
in-group play that requires sharing more than boys are. Women use different
types of problem solving when dealing with conflicts. The feminist viewpoint
would solve international conflict with soft power rather than just hard power.
With that theory it would help create alliances with other nations rather than
raising negative tensions with them. Therefore, it could help prevent future
wars or other conflicts. Underplaying cooperation hinders international
relation, as it is a way to defend politics and human life.
The purpose of
Tickner’s essay is not to say that a feminist view should over power masculine
viewpoints on issues relating to international relations but more that there
should be a balance between them. Working with both viewpoints can help with
ending or containing international conflicts. Feminist theories add to helping
with conflicts within international politics. Also, if more importance is added
to feminist theories, the field of international relations would become more
appealing towards women. International relation should not just be inclusionary
and seen just a male dominated field. There should be a discourse that gives
women and men the same equality over their contributions in politics.
I think the feminist perspective is fascinating and should be further promoted in the field of International relations. Many find Morgenthau’s principles to be objective and ineffective, feminism an unlikely perspective I thought at first for international relations to deal with, provides some of the best critics of Morgenthau’s theories. Tickner is very poignant in her attack of realism, and it becomes apparent that realists, at least traditional realist like Morgenthau are comfortable with the status quo and seem to demonize the individual only holding them to be important if they are the leader of a country. Feminism is a direct assault to that archaic approach. Just as a person asks for advice in solving a personal issue, the more people they ask for help the more informed their decision becomes. The more avenues leaders in politics use to obtain information and become better informed allow them to be more successful. In the field of international relations with so much on the line, feminism should absolutely be a tool political and policy officials utilize to make the world a safer and more secure place for everyone.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with your analysis of Tickner and I believe that having more women in International Relations will be beneficial for the international community. One skepticism that I have is that feminism tends to come across as being discriminated against. I understand why the wording leads to masculine roles, but what I get from Tickner, and maybe I am wrong, is that there is an active effort to make IR less welcoming to women. I don't believe that people are choosing their terminology to exclude women and that roles are being defined with the intention of making it harder for women to enter. Again, I may be misreading Tickner but other than my criticisms I completely agree with the essence of what she is saying.
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