Gendered Concepts of International Relations: Power
Power is one of the most central yet contested concepts in International Relations (IR). Traditionally understood as the capacity of states to influence outcomes through coercion, resources, or strategic advantage, power has largely been theorized in masculinized and state-centric terms. Feminist scholars argue that this narrow understanding obscures how power actually operates in global politics—through everyday practices, social relations, cultural norms, and unequal structures that are deeply gendered.
This unit examines power as a gendered concept and shows how feminist IR expands its meaning beyond domination and control to include relational, structural, and productive forms of power.
Conventional Understandings of Power in IR
Mainstream IR theories, particularly realism, conceptualize power as material capability—military strength, economic resources, and strategic influence. Power is measured, compared, and deployed primarily by states to secure national interests.
This view privileges visible, coercive forms of power and associates political effectiveness with control, force, and rational calculation. Feminist scholars critique this framework for equating power with domination and for ignoring how such definitions reflect masculinist norms that valorize aggression and autonomy while marginalizing cooperation, care, and dependence.
As a result, many sites where power is exercised—households, labor markets, social institutions, and cultural representations—are excluded from IR analysis.
Masculinity, Power, and Global Politics
Feminist IR highlights the close relationship between power and hegemonic masculinity. Political authority, leadership, and credibility in international politics are often associated with masculine traits such as toughness, decisiveness, and emotional restraint.
Charlotte Hooper argues that global politics normalizes particular forms of masculinity by presenting them as natural expressions of power. States that project military strength and assertiveness are seen as powerful, while those emphasizing welfare, cooperation, or restraint are often perceived as weak.
This gendered association shapes foreign policy choices and legitimizes militarized forms of power, even when they produce insecurity and harm.
Power beyond Coercion: Feminist Reconceptualizations
Feminist scholars challenge the reduction of power to coercion. Drawing on broader social theory, they argue that power is also relational, productive, and diffuse. Power shapes identities, norms, and possibilities for action rather than merely forcing compliance.
J. Ann Tickner emphasizes that power operates through social relations and institutions that privilege certain actors and marginalize others. From this perspective, power includes the ability to define agendas, set norms, and shape what is considered legitimate knowledge.
This reconceptualization reveals how gender hierarchies are embedded in global governance, development discourse, and security practices.
Structural Power and Gendered Inequality
A key feminist contribution is the focus on structural power—the deep-seated arrangements that organize global inequality. Economic systems, labor markets, and international institutions distribute power unevenly along lines of gender, class, race, and geography.
Women’s labor—often informal, unpaid, or underpaid—sustains global economies while remaining politically invisible. Feminist IR shows how these economic structures constitute a form of power that operates without direct coercion.
V. Spike Peterson highlights how global political economy relies on gendered divisions of labor, revealing power as embedded in everyday practices rather than solely in state decisions.
Discursive Power and Representation
Power also functions through discourse and representation. Who speaks, whose experiences are recognized, and which narratives dominate international forums are deeply political questions.
Feminist scholars argue that dominant IR discourses marginalize women’s voices and normalize masculine perspectives as universal. Development, security, and peacebuilding narratives often portray women as victims or dependents, reinforcing hierarchical power relations.
By challenging these representations, feminist IR exposes how language and knowledge production are sites of power that shape global outcomes.
Agency, Resistance, and Feminist Power
Feminist approaches do not portray women merely as victims of power. They emphasize agency and resistance, showing how marginalized actors navigate and contest power structures.
Women’s movements, transnational advocacy networks, and grassroots activism demonstrate alternative forms of power based on solidarity, moral authority, and collective action. These practices challenge dominant notions that equate power solely with force.
Power, from this perspective, includes the capacity to transform social relations and imagine alternative political futures.
Postcolonial Feminist Perspectives on Power
Postcolonial feminist scholars argue that global power relations are shaped by colonial histories and ongoing inequalities between the Global North and South. International institutions often reproduce Western norms while presenting them as universal.
Women in postcolonial contexts are frequently positioned as objects of intervention rather than political subjects. Feminist critiques reveal how power operates through development agendas, humanitarian governance, and security regimes.
Understanding power as gendered thus requires attention to intersectionality—the ways gender intersects with race, class, nation, and empire.
Conclusion: Power Reimagined through a Gendered Lens
Feminist IR transforms the concept of power by moving beyond domination and coercion to include relational, structural, and discursive dimensions. Power is not only exercised by states through force; it is embedded in institutions, identities, and everyday practices that shape global politics.
By exposing the gendered assumptions underlying conventional theories, feminist scholars broaden the analytical and ethical scope of IR. Power, when viewed through a gendered lens, becomes a question of justice, representation, and transformation, rather than mere control.
References
- Tickner, J. Ann. Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security.
- Enloe, Cynthia. Bananas, Beaches and Bases.
- Hooper, Charlotte. Manly States.
- Peterson, V. Spike. Gendered States.
- Sylvester, Christine. Feminist Theory and International Relations.
