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Most approaches in International Relations (IR) agree on the basic assumption that states are the central actors in the international system. In addition, to speak about a state while using metaphors of personhood - implying that the state is like a living organism, a "human being" who acts and takes decisions - is everyday policy. But if the state is for analytical purposes treated as a person, the question of "gender" is becoming relevant. Given that feminist studies previously revealed how treating gender as irrelevant can actually privilege "masculine values" as the universal norm. In her critical feminist discourse analysis Marret Bischewski examines how gendered identities of states are constructed in global politics and how forms of masculinities are negotiated in the international arena. By analyzing the U.S. American political discourse about China she makes the operations of masculinities in the meetings of "Uncle Sam" and the "Red Dragon" visible. Further, she overcomes the obstacles of feminist inquiry regarding the question "how to identify masculinity when you see it?".
About the author
Marret Bischewski studied Political Science in Bielefeld, Madrid and Bremen and graduated in 2011 with a Master of Arts in International Relations from Jacobs University Bremen and the University of Bremen. Her research interests are Feminist Theory, Constructivism and Discourse Theory as well as Development Politics and European Integration.
