Since the birth of contemporary International Relations as we know it, likely to have been simultaneous with the existence of the First World War or thereabouts, the presence of gender in the progression and relationships of and between nations has been evident, relations between First and Third World nations inclusive. But in what capacity has gender been so important to International Relations, if indeed it has been so conspicuous?

In order to clearly ascertain the role of gender within First and Third World relations, it would appear necessary to initiate a discourse of the role in politics and International Relations generically, in order then to provide a satisfactory foundation upon which conclusions can accurately be made.

There appear to be two fundamental approaches when encountering the role of gender in International Relations. The first of which bears a decidedly feminist tack, and involves a more historical explanation of the presence of gender in International Relations. It is an argument that bases itself around the prevalence of warfare, particularly throughout the Twentieth Century, and the

And with the increasing amount of women into the upper echelons of state affairs, factors of gender in International Relations have never been so important. This suggests that gendering in International Relations is predominantly historical, and it is becoming less and less gendered as we speak. Politics itself is becoming far less gendered, but importantly the criticism of this is becoming far less marginalised and far more mainstream.

According to feminist theory, this historical prevalence of masculinity in powerful positions has created hierarchal dichotomies (V. Spike Peterson and Anne Sisson Runyan 1995:5), thus creating further prejudices throughout society, even to the extent that language (i.e. the underlying cultural definitions given to various words) is tainted with gendered overtones. Peterson and Runyan suggest furthermore that gender has little to do with one’s physicality, but is purely “socially learned behaviour and expectations that distinguish between masculinity and femininity”, a notion that is supported by Francone D’Amico and Peter Beckman (1994:3): “[gender is] characteristics linked to a particular sex by one’s culture”.

Some topics in this essay:
International Relations, Third World, Peter Beckman, Primarily Sylvester, Third Worlds, Talpade Mohanty, World-to-Third World, Charlotte Hooper, international relations, Peterson Runyan, Sisson Runyan, third world, world nations, national security, war national, gender international, gender international relations, third world nations, war national security, women third, military diplomatic roles, women third world, feminist scholars, diplomatic roles, military diplomatic,