ULUSLARARASI İLİŞKİLER TEORİLERİ II

New Zealand

Patriarchy

Liberal

unequal

disregard

Postmodern feminism rejects the assertions of liberal feminist approach and attempts to deconstruct realist interpretations of international relations in order to uncover the concealed yet existent influences of gender, claiming that gender roles are arbitrarily constructed and that the relationship between gender and power should be re-evaluated in an unrestricted way. In that respect, this approach suggests that the constructive function of legal discourse should be pursued in order to make feminists’ point of “political struggle” over gender differences more visible.

The correct answer is E.

J. Ann Tickner is an Anglo-American feminist international relations (IR) theorist whose works predominantly argue that IR theories and practices connote “gender inequality”; and hence there are “gendered perceptions” in IR concealed by the claimed notions of “gender neutrality” and “objectivity”. In that respect, Tickner became famous for her attempts to challenge the mainstream IR theories and through her contributions to the sub-discipline of feminist IR by projecting innovative theoretical debates and introducing new areas of analysis. In her work Gender in International Relations: Feminist Perspectives on Achieving Global Security, Tickner applies various feminist perspectives to international politics and calls to mind the constructive criticisms of mainstream IR theories such as realism, liberalism and Marxism. Tickner persistently claims that there are gender differences and inequalities in the formation of “state identities” and “citizen responsibilities”; and therefore, they should be integrated in the analytical framework of IR studies (Tickner, 1992).

The correct answer is A.

According to Hans J. Morgenthau, the six principles of political realism are as follows: i) politics is governed by objective laws which have roots in human nature; ii) national interest defined in terms of national power; iii) interest is always dynamic; iv) abstract moral principles cannot be applied to politics; v) difference between moral aspirations of a nation and the universal moral principles; and vi) autonomy of international politics. Tickner re-treated the six mentioned principles of Morgenthau which are commonly acknowledged as the underpinning principles of the realist theory.

Tickner emphasized that Morgenthau’s concept of “objective laws” is defined on masculine basis and that Morgenthau, in announcing the objective laws of human nature, proved partial indeed and implied masculine qualities, whereas human nature has both feminine and masculine qualities.

With regard to defining national interest in terms of national power, Tickner argues that in today’s world, the concept of national interest cannot be equated with national power. Tickner suggests that national interests should be addressed based on cooperative relations on mutual interests that would be multi-dimensional in scope and that would involve all actors.

The argument that abstract moral principles cannot be applied to politics is defended by Morgenthau. However, Tickner indicates that moral principles cannot be separated from politics; public sphere cannot be autonomous, and above all, there arose a necessity for questioning the public sphere as it is a sphere that excludes women.

Furthermore, criticising the concept of autonomy, Tickner insisted that this concept should be re-defined in such a way as to internalize the existence of women.

The correct answer is C.

Postcolonial feminism has developed as a response to feminism focusing solely on the experiences of women in Western cultures. Postcolonial feminists also reasonably criticize Western feminists for their specific focus largely on western women who have comparative advantages in social life such as access to education, wealth and their active position in the liberal order compared to the women from “marginalized or oppressed groups”.

The correct answer is D.

The “second wave” of feminism that started in the second part of the 20th century focused not only on the guarantee of political rights but also on the strengthening of women’s cultural and political presence in societies. The second wave primarily concentrated on issues such as the legal equality between men and women, women’s liberation movements with the theme of women liberation, inequalities in the work place, as well as family and reproductive rights. 

The information provided in options B, C and E is related with the first wave of feminism. Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Women dates back to earlier ages of feminism.

The correct answer is A.