'And They Think I'm Just a Nice Old Lady' Women and War in Belfast, Northern Ireland

War and Terrorism, Geography of

“…In parallel fashion, an entirely new arsenal of euphemisms have concocted in an attempt to minimize the destructiveness of warfare: 'smart-bombs,' 'precision war,' 'bloodless combat,' and 'collateral damage,' to name but a few. In critique of these developments, feminist and critical geopolitics in particular have significantly expanded how geography (as a discipline) approaches war and terrorism and, specifically, have forwarded greater engagement with the 'embodiment' of militarized conflict (Dowler, 1998(Dowler, , 2012Dowler and Sharp, 2001;Hyndman, 2004Hyndman, , 2007Fluri, 2009).…”

“…Accordingly, it is not only an epistemological challenge to traditional approaches; it is also an attempt to broad the field; to address heretofore unexplored connections between 'all-things-military' and 'geography' (here defined as both topic and discipline). Although wide in scope, critical geographic approaches to war, terror, and militarism are most often forwarded by those working in the subfields of critical geopolitics and feminist geopolitics (Dowler and Sharp, 2001;Cowen and Gilbert, 2007;Flint, 2009, 2010;Dowler, 1998Dowler, , 2012. Here, the "geographic logics and imaginations undergirding war, geopolitics, security, and reconstruction .…”

Social Immobility, Ethno-politics, and Sectarian Violence: Obstacles to Post-conflict Reconstruction in Northern Ireland

“…Consequently, ex-combatant "community leadership" has entailed the re-colonization of community space and takeover of salaried roles in the grassroots peacebuilding sector by former male combatants and terrorists. The exclusion of female ex-combatants within the republican/nationalist community (Gilmartin 2015) who had been pivotal players during the conflict (Arextaga 1997;Dowler 1998), and whose political violence was considered "non-normative" (Ashe and Harland 2014, 752) is, in contrast, indicative of the more general centrality of normative, semi-militarized, male masculinities in social structures which constitute the "post-conflict" society.…”

The Virgin Mary Connection: Reflecting on Feminism and Northern Irish Politics

“…Women's contribution to achieving nationalist goals revolves around maintaining the home; supporting men in their active roles in the public arena of ethnic politics and reflecting the moral ideals of the nation through their behaviour (see Dowler 1998;Morgan 1995;Ryan 2000). Men defend the nation and its women and children from the enemy.…”