The Journal of International Affairs is happy to announce the release of our latest issue, Vol. 72, No. 2, Dynamics of Global Feminism. 

On October 1 from 1:00-2:00pm, the Journal will celebrate the release of the issue by hosting a public event in the Kellogg Center. Professors Yasmine Ergas and Eugenia McGill will serve as moderators for the event.

This issue is the second in 11 years on gender, and our first on feminism. It is also the first issue to heavily favor female writers, which is long overdue for the Journal. We chose to take this approach because the international relations field remains dominated by men. According to a 2016 study by Foreign Interrupted, women made up just 24 percent of foreign policy guests on cable news and authored only 10-20% of foreign policy op-eds. Out of 232 events hosted by six foreign policy think tanks in DC, 150 did not include a single female panelist. In another study that looked at the entire International Relations curriculum at the London School of Economics, 79.2 percent of texts on reading lists had male authors.

With this issue on the Dynamics of Global Feminism, the Journal of International Affairs has chosen to dedicate its voice to rectifying this inequity. It seeks to provide a greater platform for women and to push the International Relations field to be more representative of the broader public.

The Dynamics of Global Feminism asks its contributors a series of questions. Is there one “Global Feminism,” or several? Why have some feminist movements been successful while others have failed? How have globalization, the rise of populism, and the emergence of new technologies affected both the form and substance of feminism? What have past movements gotten wrong, or right, and how can feminism contribute to building a better world?

The issue features contributions from a number of powerful voices. Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee, former Afghan Minister for Women Sima Samar, and Pakistani rights activist Farida Shaheed, among others, share their experiences fighting for women’s causes across the globe. The issue also includes selections from prominent academics, including Naila Kabeer, Cynthia Enloe, Eugenia McGill, and Yasmine Ergas.

Two former SIPA students also made it into the issue. Saumya Deva, winner of the Journal’s inaugural Student Art Contest, and Jasneet Hora, winner of the biannual Andrew Wellington Cordier Student Essay Contest, both made powerful student contributions to Dynamics of Global Feminism.  

Readers can find individual essays online and on JSTOR. The full print issue can be purchased here.

An issue on feminism is long overdue. And still, much remains to be said. We hope that you enjoy reading this issue, and that it is the start of a new conversation in the international relations field.