Feminist Perspectives on the Internationalization of The State

Abstract

The state is often described in transition: public spaces are rearranged by private companies, national social welfare is being privatized to some extent, and supranational institutions have more influence on national policies. “A view from the kitchen” (Diane Elson) is helpful for understanding the changing dynamics of states and societies because different women are affected by these policies in different and often ambiguous ways: women of the globalized South migrate to the North, creating global care chains, while women in Western industrialized countries are confronted with changing welfare regimes, leaving mainly highly educated women to profit from this situation. This article contributes to feminist debates on economic globalization and state internationalization. Our feminist materialist perspective allows a critical view on dominance and power in “governance”. Thus, the article adds to feminist debates on globalization from the perspective of state transformation and to debates on governance from the perspective of state transformation grounded in gendered social relations.

Governing Austerity: Governance Reforms as Facilitators of Gendered Austerity in Finland

“…Prioritisation of global competitiveness, cuts in public spending, and subjugation of social policies to the needs of the market have shifted gender relations and created new class-based, ethnic, and global distinctions between women. For instance, while women's labour and human capital are increasingly required to support international competitiveness, social reproduction is refamiliarised and reprivatised due to the withdrawal of the state from social provisioning and the marketisation and privatisation of public services (see Bakker 2003;Sauer and Wöhl 2011;Walby 2015). These shifts in policies have been supported by New Public Management (NPM) and other governance reforms that have made market concepts and techniques, such as performance management, cost-benefit calculations and audit, the regulatory ideals of public governance (Larner 2000).…”

The new materialism: Re-claiming a debate from a feminist perspective

“…Our objective is to show how the social position of women and women’s inequality and their suffering tends to be viewed in terms of a pre-existing disadvantage that has its roots elsewhere and that is merely ‘exploited’ in the process of capitalist expansion. We highlight the ‘complicit’ role of the state in this exploitation, allowing for a critical view on dominance and power in the ‘governing’ of exploitation (Sauer & Wöhl 2011). Yet, in doing so, it seems odd to us that we still need to rehearse this critique, since these points have been raised convincingly and numerous times by various Marxist-feminist authors and should, surely, be at the forefront of Marxist scholarship in the 21st century.…”

“This is how I want to live my life”: An Experiment in Prefigurative Feminist Organizing for a More Equitable and Inclusive City

“…Two foci are prominent in the recent literature on the relationship between feminist organizing and the state. One is the increasingly harsh attitude of neoliberal‐inflected nation states toward equality‐seeking advocates and movements, with the corresponding marginalization of feminist interests and dismantling of pro‐feminist organizations (Brodie 2008; Lindell ; Rogers and Knight ; Saur and Wöhl ). The other is debates within feminism about the success and value of efforts to reform state processes and services through gender‐focused initiatives in primarily national and international contexts (for example, Bacchi and Eveline ; Bergman ; Fraser ; Sangster and Luxton ; Simon‐Kumar ; Walby ).…”

“…The relationship between feminist organizing and the state has always been a difficult one and a subject of much debate (Brodie ; Fraser ; Mizrahi ; Saur and Wöhl ; Walby ; Yuval‐Davis ). Proponents of engaging the state acknowledge the potential risks to feminist principles and aims, but nevertheless see value in confronting and attempting to change “a state which denies resources and power to live out your days decently and enjoyably and have hope for the future” (Rowbotham :162).…”