Feminist Theories Within , Invisible To , and Beyond IR

I WOULD FIRST LIKE TO thank the editors of The Brown Journal of World Affairs for devoting an issue to “feminist theory and its future within International Relations.” The title of my essay was prompted by a series of questions the editors posed as guidelines for contributing authors. Suggested topics ranged from “the debate(s) on feminism” to “feminism in relation to IR,” and “feminist theory in relation to policy.” It struck me that the questions within each topic indicated a variety of assumptions about “feminism,” “theory,” and “international relations” that seemed to reflect what currently passes for awareness of and knowledge about feminist theory within IR. As a feminist-IR theorist, however, I found these assumptions familiar but largely mistaken. Insofar as such assumptions do reflect how feminist-IR is generally perceived, they also reveal the narrowness of that perception and its failure to encompass what I consider the most significant—indeed the most theoretical—aspects of feminist-IR. Making sense of the discrepancy between ‘my take’ and the ‘received view’ suggested a strategy for responding to the editors’ invitation. I therefore attempt in this essay (and not for the first time1) to clarify my understanding of feminist theories and their relationship to theorizing ‘within’ and ‘beyond’ mainstream IR. In the process, I address a number of the questions posed by the editors, specifically: