A critique of the realist theory in international relations: Feminism and 9/11

• Main Authors: Guzman, Alvin Anthony C., Pedreña, Kimberly T., Timones, Katrina B.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2005
• Subjects: September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; Terrorism > United States; Feminist theory; International relations; International and Area Studies
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_bachelors/8790
• Institution: De La Salle University

From the past until the present, major IR events were predominantly explained and analyzed through the realist theory and the September 11 (9/11) incident is no exception. Realism made, once again, comprehensible that the states played a major role during the terrorist attacks and the “War Against Terror.” While this is true to some extent, realism cannot give us a holistic view of IR events since it is patriarchal and gender biased. This paper tries to explain the 9/11 event through another perspective aside from the mainstream view by using the liberal feminism lens and further expounds how liberal feminism can be a viable alternative to “malestream” realism.