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Kronsell, Annica and Erica Svedberg (eds) (2011) Making Gender, Making War: violence, military and peacekeeping practices, London and New York: Routledge.

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This article explores how the concept of military service develops in the post-conflict society of Cyprus (RoC), following its accession to the European Union (EU). It is based on an exhaustive series of individual interviews with soldiers, lawyers, politicians, ambassadors and civilians, as well as an analysis of media content. The article sets out exactly how EU accession presented a confusing ideological trajectory for the army, lowering motivation for defending the border against occupying forces. The diminishing value of military service takes place against a background of changing masculine ideals. Moreover, defence diplomacy aiming to create energy alliances between EU member states against Turkey had the unintended consequence of young men further disassociating from direct involvement in the defence project. The article also analyses a number of policies developed to deal with conscription issues. Through the case study of Cyprus, we come to see how policy on military service during the EU accession process should incorporate changing civil-military relations.
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This article examines the construction of hegemonic masculinity within the US Navy. Based on life history interviews with 27 male officers, this study explores alternative discourses and identities of officers from three different communities in the Navy: aviation, surface warfare, and the supply corps. Definitions of masculinity are relationally constructed through associations of difference: aviators tend to draw upon themes of autonomy and risk taking; surface warfare officers draw upon themes of perseverance and endurance; and supply officers draw upon themes of technical rationality. Further, these masculinities depend upon various contrasting definitions of femininity. Finally, this article explores a series of contradictions that threaten the secure construction of masculinity within this military culture.
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This article examines and develops a comparison of the Holy Cross School conflict and the campaign by Robert McCartney's sisters and partner to bring those responsible for his murder to justice in Northern Ireland. Both events involved women who identify with the Irish nationalist community in public protest. The article employs a feminist theoretical framework to investigate the ethno-gender dynamics of these particular manifestations of women's political protest. By engaging in a comparative analysis of both protests, the article exposes how these specific expressions of women's political agency and the political discourses and images that they stimulated were influenced by, reflected and disturbed notions about the role of women in nationalist societies.
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On numerous occasions in the past fifteen years, U.N. peacekeepers have been accused of sexually assaulting or abusing the populations they serve. A Comprehensive Review of peacekeeper misconduct completed in 2005 identified significant problems and recommended numerous changes to address them. The U.S. Army and NATO, in a response to the possibility that their deployed troops will be engaged in or facilitate human trafficking, have enacted new policies intended to remove their troops from the demand for women trafficked for sexual services. The Department of Defense and NATO initiatives are similar to those being considered by the United Nations for preventing sexual misconduct by its peacekeepers. Because the United States, NATO, and the United Nations are all addressing the problems of sexual misconduct by deployed troops, their efforts should be mutually reinforcing. The examples of American and NATO armed forces offer hope that the United Nations will also enact strong measures to prevent future misconduct by its peacekeepers.
Academic feminists have turned to feminist theory to develop ways of managing or solving ethnic antagonisms, especially among feminists/women in Northern Ireland. This essay troubles the application of feminist theory to conflict resolution/management in Northern Ireland. It examines the impact of this type of deployment of theory on key feminist categories such as identity and difference. It also considers what becomes marginalised from the analysis of gender politics in Northern Ireland when feminist theory is harnessed to solving/managing the Northern Ireland problem. The essay concludes by arguing for the development of alternative feminist frameworks that are not contained within the boundaries of a search for solutions.
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The murder of Robert McCartney in Belfast in January 2005 sparked a campaign by his sisters and partner to bring his murderer(s), allegedly members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army, to justice. The article examines the gender politics of this campaign. It explores how the campaign simultaneously reflected and contested traditional ideas about women's subjectivities and roles in ethnically divided societies. Furthermore, the article highlights how the ideologies of masculinity and femininity acted as political resources for the campaigners in their struggle with the Irish republican hierarchy.