War, Women, and Power

by Marie E. Berry (Author)

Rwanda and Bosnia both experienced mass violence in the early 1990s. Less than ten years later, Rwandans surprisingly elected the world's highest level of women to parliament. In Bosnia, women launched thousands of community organizations that became spaces for informal political participation. The political mobilization of women in both countries complicates the popular image of women as merely the victims and spoils of war. Through a close examination of these cases, Marie E. Berry unpacks the puzzling relationship between war and women's political mobilization. Drawing from over 260 interviews with women in both countries, she argues that war can reconfigure gendered power relations by precipitating demographic, economic, and cultural shifts. In the aftermath, however, many of the gains women made were set back. This book offers an entirely new view of women and war and includes concrete suggestions for policy makers, development organizations, and activists supporting women's rights.

Review
Advance praise: 'Berry's War, Women and Power is a true tour de force. We know that periods of war are often followed by increases in women's political participation, but prior to this book, we didn't understand why. Combining careful historical analyses, with more than 260 interviews with political actors in Rwanda and Bosnia, Berry traces the process by which the destruction of war pushed women to develop new network ties, new community organizations, and new collective humanitarian projects, which in turn institutionalized new forms of women's political participation. Sadly, however, she also finds that these gains are relatively short lived. More than just a patriarchal backlash, Berry demonstrates how well-meaning international humanitarian assistance had the surprising and unanticipated consequence of flattening out women's nascent political gains. Engaging, heart wrenching, and original, War, Women and Power is a must read for everyone interested in gender, war, and the necessity of building equitable post-war societies.' Jocelyn Viterna, Harvard University, Massachusetts

Advance praise: 'This fascinating and important book examines the processes through which war facilitates women's grassroots mobilization through demographic, economic, and cultural transformations. It makes an original contribution to the study of gender and conflict. Moreover, it is well-written and nuanced, backed by strong evidence, drawing on a rich body of fieldwork in Rwanda and Bosnia.' Aili Mari Tripp, Wangari Maathai Professor of Political Science and Gender and Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Advance praise: 'In this exceptional and often surprising book, Marie E. Berry shows how in disrupting power and gender relations, wars in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina created political and cultural openings that allowed women to mobilize in significant and surprising ways. An altogether extraordinary contribution to the literatures on war, contentious politics, and women's political participation.' Doug McAdam, Ray Lyman Wilbur Professor of Sociology, Stanford University

About the Author
Marie E. Berry is Assistant Professor of International Comparative Politics at the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver.