Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War?: Perceptions, Prescriptions, Problems in the Congo and Beyond - Paperback

by Maria Eriksson Baaz (Author), Professor Maria Stern (Author)

All too often in conflict situations, rape is referred to as a 'weapon of war', a term presented as self-explanatory through its implied storyline of gender and warring. In this provocative but much-needed book, Eriksson Baaz and Stern challenge the dominant understandings of sexual violence in conflict and post-conflict settings.

Reading with and against feminist analyses of the interconnections between gender, warring, violence and militarization, the authors address many of the thorny issues inherent in the arrival of sexual violence on the global security agenda. Based on original fieldwork in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as research material from other conflict zones, Sexual Violence as a Weapon of War? challenges the recent prominence given to sexual violence, bravely highlighting various problems with isolating sexual violence from other violence in war.

A much-anticipated book by two acknowledged experts in the field, on an issue that has become an increasingly important security, legal and gender topic.

Author Biography

Maria Eriksson Baaz is associate professor at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, and a senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala, Sweden. Her research interests are in African politics, security and development, post-colonial theory and gender. Recently she has focused on masculinity, militarization and defence reform interventions, with a particular focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is the author of The Paternalism of Partnership: A Postcolonial Reading of Identity in Development Aid (2005). She has also contributed to several edited volumes, such the International Handbook on African Security (2012), and has written numerous policy reports. Additionally, her articles have appeared in leading journals, including International Studies Quarterly, African Affairs, Journal of International Relations and Development, Journal of Modern African Studies, and African Security.

Maria Stern is professor in peace and development studies at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg. Her research interests are security studies, the security-development nexus, politics of identity, and feminist theory. Recently she has focused on masculinity, militarization and defence reform interventions, with a particular focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Maria co-edited a special issue on the 'Security-development nexus revisited' in Security Dialogue (2010). She is also co-editor of Feminist Methodologies for International Relations (2006) and the author of Naming Security - Constructing Identity (2005). She has contributed to several edited volumes, such as the International Handbook on African Security (2012), and has written numerous policy reports. Additionally, her articles have appeared in leading journals, including African Affairs, Alternatives, International Journal of Peace Studies, International Political Sociology, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of International Relations and Development, Journal of Modern African Studies, Review of International Studies, and Security Dialogue.
Maria Eriksson Baaz is associate professor at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg, and a senior researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, Uppsala, Sweden. Her research interests are in African politics, security and development, post-colonial theory and gender. Recently she has focused on masculinity, militarization and defence reform interventions, with a particular focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is the author of The Paternalism of Partnership: A Postcolonial Reading of Identity in Development Aid (2005). She has also contributed to several edited volumes, such the International Handbook on African Security (2012), and has written numerous policy reports. Additionally, her articles have appeared in leading journals, including International Studies Quarterly, African Affairs, Journal of International Relations and Development, Journal of Modern African Studies, and African Security.

Maria Stern is professor in peace and development studies at the School of Global Studies, University of Gothenburg. Her research interests are security studies, the security-development nexus, politics of identity, and feminist theory. Recently she has focused on masculinity, militarization and defence reform interventions, with a particular focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Maria co-edited a special issue on the 'Security-development nexus revisited' in Security Dialogue (2010). She is also co-editor of Feminist Methodologies for International Relations (2006) and the author of Naming Security - Constructing Identity (2005). She has contributed to several edited volumes, such as the International Handbook on African Security (2012), and has written numerous policy reports. Additionally, her articles have appeared in leading journals, including African Affairs, Alternatives, International Journal of Peace Studies, International Political Sociology, International Studies Quarterly, Journal of International Relations and Development, Journal of Modern African Studies, Review of International Studies, and Security Dialogue.