Women and Militant Wars
The Politics of Injury
"This book explores women's activities in militant insurgencies and seeks to understand what women 'do' in wars and how that challenges or endorses gender norms, as the case might be. In mainstream IR, inter-state conflict, anti-state armed insurgency and armed militancy are essentially seen as wars where protracted collective violence (against civilians and security forces) is used to achieve a political goal. The case studies in this book are informed by Christine Sylvester's work suggesting that 'war is a politics of injury'. Extending this notion of wars to the armed militancy in Indian Kashmir, Tamil insurgency in Sri Lanka and the Maoist insurgency in India, this book explores how women participate in militant wars, and how that politics not only shapes the gendered understandings of women's identities and bodies but is in turn shaped by them.The case studies discussed in the book represent women's involvement and participation in three different categories of insurgent wars. The insurgency in Kashmir is supported by one state (Pakistan) against the other (India) and is religio-political in nature. Sri Lanka has witnessed an ethno-nationalist war between the Tamil armed militants of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam) and the Sinhalese government security forces which only ended in 2009. The ongoing Maoist insurgency in India derives sustenance from far left radical extremist ideology of Marxism-Leninism-Maoism which was assumed to have lost its appeal and influence. Each of these insurgent wars has its own gender dynamics and recruitment and operational strategies. The book is based on empirical analyses of women's participation in direct combat and logistical, ideological support they provide to insurgent groups as planners and patrons. In addition, the case studies offer important comparative insight into three different and most prevalent forms of insurgent wars today.This book will be of much interest to students of gender politics, critical war studies, counter-insurgency and political violence, Asian politics and IR in general"--
Beyond its central premise, the book can be read through the connected lenses of Nonfiction. Those themes offer useful points of attention as the characters, ideas, or world develop, especially where the book complicates the expectations of its primary category.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What the reading experience may hold
A fuller profile for choosing with more confidence—not just another copy of the preview.
Nonfiction
Use these as starting points rather than limits; the most memorable books often stretch beyond their catalog labels.
Catalog signals suggest warfare and conflict, violence, death, or criminal harm. These notes may not be complete; consult a publisher or reader-supplied guide when detailed warnings matter.
These notes are inferred from available catalog information and may not be complete. Check a publisher or reader-supplied guide if you need comprehensive warnings.
Dark tone · Steady pace
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
A good fit if…
Readers who want a thoughtful experience and enjoy noticing the connections beneath a book’s surface story.
This book's DNA
A visual estimate based on this edition's categories, description, and length. Select a star to explore the signals.
This signal is descriptive, not a rating. It helps compare the kind of reading experience this edition may offer.
Spoiler-Free Emotional Arc
A broad estimate of the book’s emotional rhythm, shown without story events or outcomes.
This visualization is an interpretive estimate based on catalog description, categories, tone, pace, and content signals. It does not describe specific scenes.
A quick reading snapshot
Edition facts and catalog signals to help you decide whether this book fits what you want to read next.
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-4158-2796-6
- Language
- English
- Edition record
- OL28764772M
A more thoughtful way into this book
This guide uses the edition details and category signals above to help you choose deliberately. It does not replace the author's work or a full review.
A comfortable full-length choice for steady daily reading.
Begin with its place in Nonfiction, then notice where the book resists that label.
Read for connection, not completion.
Mark one passage that sharpens the book's central concern and one that complicates it. That tension often reveals more than a quick summary.
Three questions to carry with you
- Whose perspective organizes the story, and whose perspective remains outside it?
- Which sources or lived experiences carry the author’s central argument?
- How does the book change the way you understand its larger subject?
Editorial framework by Wesley Bryan, BookenDeX Founder and Editor.
More Nonfiction books
These matches combine shared categories with author, publication-era, and reading-length signals.
Alone In Vietnam
by Robert B Boyd Jr
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Fusarium Mycotoxins
by Anne E. Desjardins
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Global Politics of Defense Reform (Initiatives in Strategic Studies: Issues and Policies)
by Thomas Bruneau, Harold Trinkunas
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Human Nature in Politics (Dodo Press)
by Graham Wallas
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
In Defense of Globalization
by Jagdish Bhagwati
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.
Iran's Military Forces and Warfighting Capabilities
by Anthony H. Cordesman, Martin Kleiber
Why it fits: shares Nonfiction, a similar reading length, a similar publication era.