Abstract
Feminism is a critical social and political movement which emerged at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century with women's claims of equal rights in society and in the political sphere, with the assertion of the right to vote. However, now, since the end of the 1980's, feminist theories have begun to appear in the realm of international relations as well, underlying the fact that 'IR is one of the most masculine of disciplines with respect to its personnel and its understanding of states, wars and markets'. The movement thus focuses not only on the position of women but also on the notion of gender, arguing that today's perception of the worlds politic is distorted by a 'gender-lens', which perpetuates a system were men are advantaged. This paper will study if such feminist approaches can be relevant in the study of world politics, and if they provide effective explanations on current international relations, key issues, and notions of state, war or peace.
