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The postwar moment: militaries, masculinities and international peacekeeping
192
Book reviews
feminist dialogue to break deafening silences and gives voice to feminist activists who are taking matters into their own hands. The silence of Israeli/ Jewish intellectuals and feminists, the editors suggest, is a form of collaboration with a brutally repressive state. These feminist writings and acts of resistance contribute to exposing the complicity within Israeli society, and are part of a mounting international outcry against Israeli government atrocities. They speak with urgency of the need to heal the painful dislocations and cultural wounds inflicted by Zionism and militarization. Therese Saliba Third World Feminist Studies Evergreen State College, Washington Olympia, WA 98505, USA doi 10.1016/S0277-5395(03)00030-X
THE POSTWAR MOMENT: MILITARIES, MASCULINITIES AND INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING, edited by Cynthia Cockburn and Dubravka Zarkov, 224 pages. Lawrence and Wishart, London, 2002. US$26.95 paper. In The Postwar Moment: Militaries, Masculinities and International Peacekeeping, Cockburn and Zarkov present us with a feminist analysis of the postwar moment. The central task of this book is to examine the changing nature of gendered concepts within discourses surrounding peacekeeping, war, militarism, and nationalism. It does this by focusing on the nature of postwar reconstruction in Bosnia – Herzegovina and the legacy of the Dutch peacekeeping operation in Bosnia upon Dutch society. It is also important to note at this stage that Cockburn and Zarkov make an important qualification of the term, ‘‘the postwar moment’’ in their introduction. They describe it as a ‘‘continuum of conflict’’ (p. 10) as opposed to a particular moment in time, which emphasizes the ongoing nature of this debate and equally its continuing importance to any study of gendered concepts. Part one outlines the significance of focusing on issues surrounding masculinity within any study of postwar gender relations. Cockburn, Enloe, and Connell all point to the neglected emphasis on the plurality of masculinities that are presented in such a situation. Perhaps the most illuminating chapter on the practical deconstruction of gender relations in the postwar moment is Dyan Mazurana’s chapter on UN gender policies. Mazurana traverses a wide range of
policy documentation from the UN that relates to the manner in which gendered interests have affected the structure and mandates of peacekeeping operations (POs). Her lens is closely focused on how gender is dealt with as an afterthought in the various processes of war. One of the most important insights that Mazurana gives us is her emphasis on the centrality of ‘‘gender training,’’ within the UN and amongst those involved with the POs. Whilst Part one of the book augments the conceptual approach to the study of gendered concepts in the continuum of war, it lacks the rigor of the later parts of the book which focus on the case study countries. Part two highlights the difficulties brought to Bosnia – Herzegovina by the gendered nature of the international interventions and the gendering of postwar institutions drawn up in the blueprints for reconstruction. Whilst Rees in her chapter criticises the Dayton Agreement and the peace process as a whole for its neglect of gender and its inclusion of gender in any postwar discussions as a mere ‘‘afterthought’’ (p. 53), Cockburn presents us with a more detailed and informative account of women and gender relations in Bosnia. By studying and working with civil society groups run by women for women in Bosnia, Cockburn points to the fact that it is so vital for these women to regain a sense of agency in postwar Bosnia. However, she also highlights the fact that this does not amount to a ‘‘women’s movement’’ in Bosnia and proceeds to outline how women’s groups in Bosnia need to adjust themselves and their focus in order to fully mobilize their potential. This is made difficult by the legacy of the highly gendered war, peacekeeping operations, and interventions that have left their scar on Bosnia, as outlined by Rees in an earlier chapter. The last section deals with an aspect of the postwar moment that is often neglected in many studies on post-conflict reconstruction. These chapters look at Dutch society and the impact of the Bosnia war on a nation that prides itself on being a nation of peacekeepers. Dudink, de Leeuw, and Zarkov provide what I believe to be the most ‘‘visionary’’ debate in the book. Dudink skillfully analyses the emotions and concepts, which lay the foundations for Dutch nationalism and in turn, dictated the nation’s reaction to the role of the Dutch military in the terrible events in Srebrenica. According to Dudink, ‘‘memory, humiliation and hope’’ are the three things which form the ‘‘seamless web of nationalism’’ in the Netherlands (p. 147). His account of nationalism and the plurality of masculinity in Dutch society are intricate and
Book reviews
illuminating. This is coupled with Zarkov’s account of the manner in which the media manipulates the ‘‘trauma’’ caused by Srebrenica particularly in relation to images and idioms of masculinity. Zarkov explains that once the Dutch media transformed the natural ‘‘trauma’’ experienced by any society involved in war to the particular ‘‘Srebrenica trauma’’ of Dutch society, ‘‘it is no longer a psychological disorder of individual soldiers but a deep national sentiment’’ (p. 189). Overall, the book raises many questions, not with regards to the quality of the contributors’ arguments, but questions which have to be directed to the area of gender studies and postwar studies in general. These questions point to the need to focus more closely on discourses of masculinity in processes of demilitarization and the interaction between masculinity and postwar nationalism. The contributors also highlight what I felt to be the most important contribution of the book, the necessary inclusion, in any discussion of the postwar moment of those countries that send their military men and women into peacekeeping operations and interventions. Aisling McCormack Department of Sociology Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2, Ireland doi 10.1016/S0277-5395(03)00029-3
SUBJECTIVITIES, KNOWLEDGES AND FEMINIST GEOGRAPHIES: THE SUBJECTS AND ETHICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH, by Liz Bondi, Hannah Avis, Ruth Bankey, Amanda Bingley, Joyce Davidson, Rosaleen Duffy, Victoria Ingrid Einagel, AnjaMaaike Green, Lynda Johnston, Susan Lilley, Carina Listerborn, Mona Marshy, Shonagh McEwasn, Niamh O’Connor, Gillian Rose, Bella Vivat and Nichola Wood, co-editors, 297 pages. Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2002. US$34.95 p.b. This collection of essays by 17 feminist women geographers examines the important issue of the role of subjectivity in producing identities, and in constructing, transforming and transferring knowledge. Following feminist tradition, the authors challenge the idea of the rational subject, the objective nature of knowledge and knowledge production, and underscore the limitations of binaries such as rational/ irrational, body/mind, and self/other in knowledge production while accepting the persistence of such
193
dualities. They use the geographical notion of place to demonstrate the significance of contextual and relational factors in producing multiple and embodied subjectivities. The authors also explore the nexus between subjectivity and academic knowledge by examining the influence of multiple subject positions on the researcher, the researched and the intended audience for the knowledge thus produced. The chapters that form the main body of the text are grouped under four key themes and are prefaced by an introduction that provides insight into the processes that resulted in this collaborative work. The introduction also presents an overview of the book’s contents. The first of the four themed sections of the book, on Embodiment, Emotions and Subjectivities, underscores the fundamentality of emotions such as fear and enjoyment in the production of embodied subjectivities. Chapter 1 uses accounts of agarophobic women to critique the Cartesian notion of self, drawing attention to the construct’s effects on available treatment; while Chapter 2 is an investigation of the geographies of fear and crime that employs feminist analyses and Lefebvre’s conceptualization of social space, to highlight the spatial nature of subjectivities related to fear. Chapter 3 continues the theme by exploring misrepresentations and microgeographies associated with panic attacks and their gendered nature. Finally, Chapter 4 highlights the significance of emotion, culture and embodiment in the enjoyment of music. The book’s second section on Dualisms, Bodies and Subjectivities is a more focused examination of enduring dichotomous constructs such as Self and Other and the spatial, social, and corporeal boundaries that such constructs impose. Gay pride parades are the topic of Chapter 5, in which the author considers the subjectivities and binaries produced, reproduced and disrupted at such pageants. Chapter 6 is a study of gendered bodies and spaces in the sport of golf, while Chapter 7 seeks to understand the production of knowledges and ‘knowers’ through an analysis of experiences and views of users of geographic information systems technologies. In Part III, titled Knowledges and Subjectivities, the authors explore the interweaving of situatedness, the fractured nature of subjectivities and the politics of claims to knowledge. Chapter 8 interprets the work of three Palestinian artists using lenses of subjectivity, identity and nation. Chapter 9 concerns itself with the political contexts in which knowledges regarding publicly subsidized art are constituted in Britain and the subjectivities that define consumers of such art. Chapter 10 challenges the dominant discourse of
Book reviews
feminist dialogue to break deafening silences and gives voice to feminist activists who are taking matters into their own hands. The silence of Israeli/ Jewish intellectuals and feminists, the editors suggest, is a form of collaboration with a brutally repressive state. These feminist writings and acts of resistance contribute to exposing the complicity within Israeli society, and are part of a mounting international outcry against Israeli government atrocities. They speak with urgency of the need to heal the painful dislocations and cultural wounds inflicted by Zionism and militarization. Therese Saliba Third World Feminist Studies Evergreen State College, Washington Olympia, WA 98505, USA doi 10.1016/S0277-5395(03)00030-X
THE POSTWAR MOMENT: MILITARIES, MASCULINITIES AND INTERNATIONAL PEACEKEEPING, edited by Cynthia Cockburn and Dubravka Zarkov, 224 pages. Lawrence and Wishart, London, 2002. US$26.95 paper. In The Postwar Moment: Militaries, Masculinities and International Peacekeeping, Cockburn and Zarkov present us with a feminist analysis of the postwar moment. The central task of this book is to examine the changing nature of gendered concepts within discourses surrounding peacekeeping, war, militarism, and nationalism. It does this by focusing on the nature of postwar reconstruction in Bosnia – Herzegovina and the legacy of the Dutch peacekeeping operation in Bosnia upon Dutch society. It is also important to note at this stage that Cockburn and Zarkov make an important qualification of the term, ‘‘the postwar moment’’ in their introduction. They describe it as a ‘‘continuum of conflict’’ (p. 10) as opposed to a particular moment in time, which emphasizes the ongoing nature of this debate and equally its continuing importance to any study of gendered concepts. Part one outlines the significance of focusing on issues surrounding masculinity within any study of postwar gender relations. Cockburn, Enloe, and Connell all point to the neglected emphasis on the plurality of masculinities that are presented in such a situation. Perhaps the most illuminating chapter on the practical deconstruction of gender relations in the postwar moment is Dyan Mazurana’s chapter on UN gender policies. Mazurana traverses a wide range of
policy documentation from the UN that relates to the manner in which gendered interests have affected the structure and mandates of peacekeeping operations (POs). Her lens is closely focused on how gender is dealt with as an afterthought in the various processes of war. One of the most important insights that Mazurana gives us is her emphasis on the centrality of ‘‘gender training,’’ within the UN and amongst those involved with the POs. Whilst Part one of the book augments the conceptual approach to the study of gendered concepts in the continuum of war, it lacks the rigor of the later parts of the book which focus on the case study countries. Part two highlights the difficulties brought to Bosnia – Herzegovina by the gendered nature of the international interventions and the gendering of postwar institutions drawn up in the blueprints for reconstruction. Whilst Rees in her chapter criticises the Dayton Agreement and the peace process as a whole for its neglect of gender and its inclusion of gender in any postwar discussions as a mere ‘‘afterthought’’ (p. 53), Cockburn presents us with a more detailed and informative account of women and gender relations in Bosnia. By studying and working with civil society groups run by women for women in Bosnia, Cockburn points to the fact that it is so vital for these women to regain a sense of agency in postwar Bosnia. However, she also highlights the fact that this does not amount to a ‘‘women’s movement’’ in Bosnia and proceeds to outline how women’s groups in Bosnia need to adjust themselves and their focus in order to fully mobilize their potential. This is made difficult by the legacy of the highly gendered war, peacekeeping operations, and interventions that have left their scar on Bosnia, as outlined by Rees in an earlier chapter. The last section deals with an aspect of the postwar moment that is often neglected in many studies on post-conflict reconstruction. These chapters look at Dutch society and the impact of the Bosnia war on a nation that prides itself on being a nation of peacekeepers. Dudink, de Leeuw, and Zarkov provide what I believe to be the most ‘‘visionary’’ debate in the book. Dudink skillfully analyses the emotions and concepts, which lay the foundations for Dutch nationalism and in turn, dictated the nation’s reaction to the role of the Dutch military in the terrible events in Srebrenica. According to Dudink, ‘‘memory, humiliation and hope’’ are the three things which form the ‘‘seamless web of nationalism’’ in the Netherlands (p. 147). His account of nationalism and the plurality of masculinity in Dutch society are intricate and
Book reviews
illuminating. This is coupled with Zarkov’s account of the manner in which the media manipulates the ‘‘trauma’’ caused by Srebrenica particularly in relation to images and idioms of masculinity. Zarkov explains that once the Dutch media transformed the natural ‘‘trauma’’ experienced by any society involved in war to the particular ‘‘Srebrenica trauma’’ of Dutch society, ‘‘it is no longer a psychological disorder of individual soldiers but a deep national sentiment’’ (p. 189). Overall, the book raises many questions, not with regards to the quality of the contributors’ arguments, but questions which have to be directed to the area of gender studies and postwar studies in general. These questions point to the need to focus more closely on discourses of masculinity in processes of demilitarization and the interaction between masculinity and postwar nationalism. The contributors also highlight what I felt to be the most important contribution of the book, the necessary inclusion, in any discussion of the postwar moment of those countries that send their military men and women into peacekeeping operations and interventions. Aisling McCormack Department of Sociology Trinity College Dublin Dublin 2, Ireland doi 10.1016/S0277-5395(03)00029-3
SUBJECTIVITIES, KNOWLEDGES AND FEMINIST GEOGRAPHIES: THE SUBJECTS AND ETHICS OF SOCIAL RESEARCH, by Liz Bondi, Hannah Avis, Ruth Bankey, Amanda Bingley, Joyce Davidson, Rosaleen Duffy, Victoria Ingrid Einagel, AnjaMaaike Green, Lynda Johnston, Susan Lilley, Carina Listerborn, Mona Marshy, Shonagh McEwasn, Niamh O’Connor, Gillian Rose, Bella Vivat and Nichola Wood, co-editors, 297 pages. Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham, MD, 2002. US$34.95 p.b. This collection of essays by 17 feminist women geographers examines the important issue of the role of subjectivity in producing identities, and in constructing, transforming and transferring knowledge. Following feminist tradition, the authors challenge the idea of the rational subject, the objective nature of knowledge and knowledge production, and underscore the limitations of binaries such as rational/ irrational, body/mind, and self/other in knowledge production while accepting the persistence of such
193
dualities. They use the geographical notion of place to demonstrate the significance of contextual and relational factors in producing multiple and embodied subjectivities. The authors also explore the nexus between subjectivity and academic knowledge by examining the influence of multiple subject positions on the researcher, the researched and the intended audience for the knowledge thus produced. The chapters that form the main body of the text are grouped under four key themes and are prefaced by an introduction that provides insight into the processes that resulted in this collaborative work. The introduction also presents an overview of the book’s contents. The first of the four themed sections of the book, on Embodiment, Emotions and Subjectivities, underscores the fundamentality of emotions such as fear and enjoyment in the production of embodied subjectivities. Chapter 1 uses accounts of agarophobic women to critique the Cartesian notion of self, drawing attention to the construct’s effects on available treatment; while Chapter 2 is an investigation of the geographies of fear and crime that employs feminist analyses and Lefebvre’s conceptualization of social space, to highlight the spatial nature of subjectivities related to fear. Chapter 3 continues the theme by exploring misrepresentations and microgeographies associated with panic attacks and their gendered nature. Finally, Chapter 4 highlights the significance of emotion, culture and embodiment in the enjoyment of music. The book’s second section on Dualisms, Bodies and Subjectivities is a more focused examination of enduring dichotomous constructs such as Self and Other and the spatial, social, and corporeal boundaries that such constructs impose. Gay pride parades are the topic of Chapter 5, in which the author considers the subjectivities and binaries produced, reproduced and disrupted at such pageants. Chapter 6 is a study of gendered bodies and spaces in the sport of golf, while Chapter 7 seeks to understand the production of knowledges and ‘knowers’ through an analysis of experiences and views of users of geographic information systems technologies. In Part III, titled Knowledges and Subjectivities, the authors explore the interweaving of situatedness, the fractured nature of subjectivities and the politics of claims to knowledge. Chapter 8 interprets the work of three Palestinian artists using lenses of subjectivity, identity and nation. Chapter 9 concerns itself with the political contexts in which knowledges regarding publicly subsidized art are constituted in Britain and the subjectivities that define consumers of such art. Chapter 10 challenges the dominant discourse of