Positioning Women in Conflict Studies

Karim and Hill's book presents a provocative argument about conceptualizing and measuring women's status in political violence research. By providing cogent critiques coupled with practical solutions, their arguments have important implications for both scholars and policymakers. The result is an analysis that offers conceptual and definitional clarity, rigorous empirical tests, and new directions for future research on a critical topic. * Dara Kay Cohen, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School * Karim and Hill's important new book is a tour de force, integrating theory, history, and empirics to demonstrate which dimensions of the situation of women are related to political violence. If you are interested in explaining state violence, domestic terror, or civil and inter-state conflict, this book will make a valuable contribution to your understanding. For example, state violence is far more likely if women are prominent in public dissent, while domestic terror is related to the rigidity of beliefs concerning women's roles in a society. Critically, harm to women emerges as highly predictive of conflict. Highly recommended. * Valerie M. Hudson, University Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M University * This book makes significant advancements in the study of gender and political violence. Karim and Hill move beyond a traditional emphasis on gender inequality and derive four dimensions of women's status with Bayesian measurement models. In contrast to many other studies, their empirical findings show that these women's status dimensions do not always correspond to less frequent terrorism, civil wars, or interstate disputes. This book is a must-read for gender and conflict scholars. * Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, Professor of Political Science, University of Iowa *