Political Effects Of War Rape

War Rape as a Political Ends

The previous two paragraphs have outlined how rape as a weapon can be used to reinforce the masculinity of an armed force in several ways and the dominance of that force by relegating the opposing force to the feminine (Enole, 1998). This section of the essay will outline how this ideas come together to result in a political strategy (Buss, 20009, p.149). Rape in this context serves to achieve the political goal of ethnic cleansing or genocide (Kirby, 2012,p.12). While this section is looking at nationalist war it is also important to note that rape is used in a weapon in interstate wars too (Wood, 2010, p.125 and Pankhurst, 2010, p.151). Also important to note, is that rape as a weapon is not used in all wars that have an ethnic

component (Wood,2010, pp.126-130).

Rape as a weapon is not just a way to spur troops but also has a political objection, it is this objective and feminist international relation works makes the experience of war rape more visible in the international political sphere (Farwell, 2004, p.395). Ethnic cleansing can be defined as the intent to make an area ethnically homogeneous by eliminating member of the other ethnic group through systematic use of killings, violence, sexual violence, rape, intimidation, forced deportation (Biken and Bagge Laustsen, 2005, p.113). Therefore Rape in the context of a campaign of ethnic cleansing is done so to bring about the end of the

enemy group (Farwell,2004, p. 395). Women are raped to forcibly impregnate them so that the cultural and ethnic linage of the women’s group is prevent by one (Hale, 2010, p.110). The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina is an example of where rape was used as a weapon of ethnic cleansing (Koo, 2002, p. 529). Where Bosnia women were raped by Serbian solider or militia members with the intention of impregnating them (Diken and Bagge Laustsen, 2005, p.115 and Koo, 2002, p. 529). When the women gave birth, the child would be consider Serb (Diken and Bagge Laustsen, 2005, p.115). This idea of ethnic erasure works when both parties share similar ideas of identity which was the case in the Bosnia War as women referred to the child which was produced as ‘it’ or ‘that’ (Diken and Bagge Laustsen, 2005, p.115). In this case the rape was used as a weapon to destroy the ‘other’ ethnic group by reproducing with the women of that group (Diken and Bagge Laustsen, 2005, p.115). Here we can see that rape as a weapon is used to achieve a political ends of ethnic cleansing. Here we can see how the assertion of masculinity over another and women as cultural holders comes into play. Both ideas are utilized in order to implement a policy of ethnic cleansing through rape. One force asserts its power and dominance and in turn they humiliate the others through their failure to protect their women (Diken and Bagge Laustsen, 2005, p.118). While women are view as the cultural barer of the ‘other’ and thus rape ends that cultural linage (Hale, 2010 and Diken and Bagge Laustsen, 2005, p.115).
Conclusion
Feminist international relations theory gives us a new critical way of looking at and theorizing aspects of international relations. Rape had before feminist critiques been considered nothing more than a by-product of war, it was something that happened as part of war but also in the private sphere of war. What feminist critiques did, especially in the aftermath of the Wars in Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, was highlighted the fact that rape has always been a part of war and the systemic use of rape as a weapon should not have been so shocking ().The essay has aimed to give a feminist critical analysts of rape as a weapon of war and how masculinity can be impacted by it. It has looked at how masculinity within armies become hegemonic during times of war and mobilization as the idea masculinity in those times becomes the ‘Just Warrior’ (Blanchard, 2003, p.1300). Following this the essay looked too see how rape can be used a weapon to reinforce that masculinity. The essay then looked at how notions of the nation are linked to femininity (Hale, 2010,). It looked at how thought the gendered notions of the nation women become targets under this form of hegemonic masculinity. Finally by looking at how rape is used a weapon with political objection of genocide or ethnic cleaning those ideas of masculinity and femininity come together. Masculinity might not explain why rape is always used as a weapon of war but it does give some helpful insight as to why it might be used.