Laura J. Shepherd - Gender, Violence and Security: Discourse as Practice

DISCOURSE AS PRACTICE

LAURA J. SHEPHERD

ZED BOOKS

London & New York

Gender, Violence and Security: Discourse as Practice was first published in 2008 by Zed Books Ltd, 7 Cynthia Street, London N1 9JF, UK and Room 400, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, USA

This new edition was first published in 2013

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Copyright Laura J. Shepherd 2008

The rights of Laura J. Shepherd to be identified as the author of this work have been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988

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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data available

ISBN 978 1 84813 681 6

On beginning my Masters degree, after some time away from the academy, I found the language of International Relations almost entirely impenetrable. Struggling, I made an appointment to see the course director to tell her that I couldnt possibly continue with the programme. She told me to hang in there, that it would all become clear if I persevered. In the weeks that followed, as we began to study more critical theories of International Relations, I found my feet, and at the end of the semester the course director asked whether I had ever considered doing doctoral research. I replied that I hadnt, and she said simply, Well, maybe you should. So I did, and the course director, Jutta Weldes, eventually co-supervised that research along with Judith Squires. It is no overstatement to say that without their inspiration, guidance and support, this book would not have been written. I also thank colleagues and friends from the University of Bristol, particularly Penny Griffin, Ana Jordan and Christina Rowley, for conversations about discourse theory, gender politics and shoes over pink wine, and I am grateful to Jindy Pettman and Marysia Zalewski for their enthusiasm about this project and their encouragement of its author. Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to my extended family, friends being the family that you get to choose in life, but most specifically my partner Brian and our brand new son Joe.

Laura J. Shepherd, February 2008

1 | INTRODUCTION

These personal narratives, provided by women reflecting on the difficulties of coordinating research on and activism against gendered violence, are disturbing to say the least. Taken from the website of Amnesty Internationals Stop Violence Against Women campaign, the above testimonies draw attention not only to the crucial need to better the experiences of women who live under threat of violence, but also to the conceptual and practical impediments to combating : 11517).

Feminist challenges to the well-defined and equally well-defended boundaries of IR: 35). Stemming from a desire to formulate a theorization of security in relation to violence, I argue that studying the subjects produced through gendered violence in the context of debates over the meaning and content of security provides more coherent accounts of both violence and security.