The overarching question imparting urgency to this exploration is: Can U.S.-Russian contention in cyberspace cause the two nuclear superpowers to stumble into war? In considering this question we were constantly reminded of recent comments by a prominent U.S. arms control expert: At least as dangerous as the risk of an actual cyberattack, he observed, is cyber operations’ “blurring of the line between peace and war.” Or, as Nye wrote, “in the cyber realm, the difference between a weapon and a non-weapon may come down to a single line of code, or simply the intent of a computer program’s user.”
Why do states, as members of international organizations and parties to international negotiations, adopt policies that require gender emancipation? Have these actors been convinced by the persuasive argument and effective advocacy of feminists? Of do they have another reason? This paper, an introduction to a project that explores these questions, provides several potential hypotheses to answer the question of why (apparently) gender-emancipatory policies come into being. It explores both their potential explanatory value and the potential political and scholarly implications of these explanations for the presence of 'international system feminism' in global politics. If there is a phenomena of system feminism, how can gender be strategically appropriated by actors in global politics?
Please join us! Coffee and tea provided. Everyone is welcome, but admittance will be on a first come–first served basis.
This seminar is co-sponsored by the Women and Public Policy Program.