Gender and International Security

Gender has important implications for international security policy. Gender bias can influence policy choices, distort understandings of military capability—especially among nonstate armed groups with women combatants—and aggravate the causes of war. It can increase internal and interstate violence in settings where women are mistreated or where sex imbalances create instability. Gender also shapes how individuals experience wars and disasters, as existing inequalities are often intensified. Bias can discourage women from pursuing careers in security policy, limiting states’ access to a full range of talent.

The intersection of gender and security has been formally recognized since the 2000 passage of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). International organizations such as NATO have developed WPS policies, and the United States passed the Women, Peace, and Security Act in 2017 to integrate gender into the work of the State and Defense Departments.

This course offers a sustained exploration of how gender identities and related power dynamics influence international and internal conflict, as well as security policy. Through case studies and examples, students will learn to conduct gender analyses and apply these skills through research, writing, and presentations. The course is structured as a discussion-based seminar to support collaborative learning.

The course begins by defining gender and international security and examining why these concepts are difficult to define. Later sessions address the intersection of gender with other identity factors, explore how security institutions are gendered, and consider how to create gender-responsive policies. The course concludes by analyzing gendered strategies in conflict and state responses to conflict.