Blackwell Reference Online

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Research has shown that gender is an integral element of violence ( Tiger & Fox 1971 ; Elshtain & Tobias 1987 ; Goldstein 2001 ). Most cases of violence are committed by men against men. While women can be combatants in armed conflicts ( Enloe 2000 ; Goldstein 2001 ), they are more likely to be victims than organizers and perpetrators of international violence. The intersection of social categories of gender, class, and nationality informs the effects of international violence for groups and individuals. Working-class and peasant women pay higher prices, both directly and indirectly, for international violence. In violence between states, women of the South are victimized more often, more harshly, and pay higher costs during and after wartime. In fact, the benefits of peace reach them later and in smaller amounts. International violence is collectively planned and systematically implemented by a group against another for political and economic goal(s). Four types of international violence are identified here. First, there are empire-building, multinational wars. Second, there are bilateral wars between two nation-states most often over territorial disputes. A third type of international violence results from liberation movements when the colonized fight the colonizers for their sovereignty. Revolutions against a tyrannical government fall under this category because they ... log in or subscribe to read full text