A Comparison of Cross-regional Masculinities in International Relations: Case Studies on the US, Japan and China
Date Issued
2014
Date
2014
Author(s)
Chen, Yin-Ru
Abstract
There have been two research paradigms in International Relations (IR). The first mainstream, realism and liberalism included; consider international society is constructed of gender-free actors (states). The second one, feminism and other post-structuralist theories alike, believe that international society is built upon deliberate construction and separation of sex, such as feminity and masculinity. Now, gender approach already got its ways into IR and gender-based theoretical case studies are applied to IR, which offer innovative visions in contemporary international relations. Meanwhile, there has been intensely debated that whether the mainstream IR paradigm originated from the West could be conducted to the East (from Turkey, Russia to Japan and China). Given the various regional / civilizational features of culture and history, there is a growing concern that mainstream IR theories from the West may not be “universal” to the East. These cultural and historical diversities also lead to different construction of the separation and identity of sex. Though the World constructed by IR theories from the West, it does not mean that the same identity will be simply taken for granted. Being grounded on the conception of hegemonic masculinity, this study tries to compare the different hegemonic masculinities between the West and the East. Given the similar conditions of international relations, eastern countries may still practice different separation of sex, gender identities, and masculinities in their respective region. This study intends to compare 1962 Cuba Missile Crisis and the Senkaku Islands/ Diaoyu Islands disputes in 2012, of which the foreign discourse and behavior are examined. The main research method is content and discursive analysis over top political leaders’ speeches during these two crises. Through analyzing and comparing selected texts, the author concludes the paper with different, cross-region types of masculinities, which help formulate how the targeted countries conducted foreign policy in different way. While the U.S. performed realism-liberalism hegemonic masculinity, Japan and China performed their own distinct masculinities.
Subjects
Gender Study
Hegemonic Masculinity
Cuban Missile Crisis
Senkaku Islands/Diaoyu Islands
Cross-Regional Study
SDGs
Type
thesis
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