Feminist Perspectives in International Relations and Social Work

Feminist perspectives have reshaped international relations by emphasising how gendered power structures influence diplomacy, security and global governance. Rather than treating states as unitary actors, feminist scholars foreground the experiences of women and marginalised groups, revealing everyday insecurities that are overlooked by traditional theories. They interrogate the masculine biases embedded in concepts of sovereignty, war and peace, and advocate for inclusive approaches that incorporate care, human rights and social justice. Parallel developments in social work draw on feminist ethics to challenge hierarchical client–practitioner relationships, promote empowerment and address structural inequalities. Intersectional frameworks inform both disciplines by highlighting how race, class, sexuality and colonial legacies intersect with gender, thereby enriching policy analysis and professional practice. Feminist research has catalysed methodological innovations, including narrative and participatory approaches, to amplify subaltern voices and transform institutional norms across global and local contexts.

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Feminist Perspectives in International Relations and Social Work publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in feminist perspectives in international relations and social work across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Intersectionality: Analytical framework recognising that multiple social identities (e.g. gender, race, class) intersect to shape individual experiences of oppression or privilege.

Care ethics: Philosophical approach emphasising relationships, empathy and responsibility for others as central to moral and political analysis, countering abstract notions of autonomy.

Epistemic injustice: Form of injustice where certain groups are unfairly discredited or silenced as knowers, leading to exclusion from processes of knowledge production.

Postcolonial feminism: Perspective that examines how colonial histories and power imbalances shape gendered experiences, foregrounding voices from formerly colonised societies.

Gender mainstreaming: Policy strategy aimed at assessing the implications for different genders of any planned action, in all areas and levels, to achieve gender equality.

References

1. Theorizing the history of women's international thinking at the ‘end of international theory’. International Theory (2022).
2. Activism and International Thought: The Women's International League of Peace and Freedom and the Problem of Statelessness in the Interwar Period. Global Studies Quarterly (2023).
3. Specialist sexual violence social work: Ensuring good practice. Aotearoa New Zealand Social Work (2019).