Millennium - Journal of

International Studies
http://mil.sagepub.com/

International Relations Theory: Contributions of a Feminist Standpoint

Robert O. Keohane
Millennium - Journal of International Studies 1989 18: 245
DOI: 10.1177/03058298890180021001
The online version of this article can be found at:
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International Relations Theory:

International Relations
Theory:
Contributions
of a Feminist
Standpoint
Contributions of a Feminist Standpoint
Robert O. Keohane
Robert O. Keohane
In a recent paper, Christine Sylvester has applied an interesting typology of
feminist
theory
to international
relations.
Sandratypology
Harding's
In a recent
paper,
Christine Sylvester
hasSylvester
applied employs
an interesting
of
useful
distinction
I
among
feminist
ways
of
looking
at
society
to
examine
feminist theory to international relations. Sylvester employs Sandra Harding's
international
relations:
I among feminist ways of looking at society to examine
useful distinction
international relations:
I. Feminist empiricism observes that states and the interstate system have
been
gendered
structures
domination
andinterstate
interaction.
Feminist
I. fundamentally
Feminist empiricism
observes
thatofstates
and the
system
have
empi,ricism
asks 'whether
it is accurate
on statesand
andinteraction.
worldwide capitalist
domination
Feminist
been fundamentally
gendered
structurestooffocus
processes
and
not'whether
also examine
the social
and structures
which capitalist
impart a
it is accurate
to attitudes
focus on states
and worldwide
empi,ricism
asks
2
gender
to
international
relations.
processes and not also examine the social attitudes and structures which impart a
gender to international relations. 2
2. Feminist standpoint theories argue that women's experiences at the
of political
life have theories
given them
perspectives
on socialexperiences
issues that provide
margins
2. Feminist
standpoint
argue
that women's
at the
valid
insights
into world
politics.
From perspectives
her vantage-point
at issues
the periphery,
the
margins
of political
life have
given them
on social
that provide
of theories
constructedat by
who put
feminist
theorist
critiqueFrom
her vantage-point
the men
periphery,
the
valid insights
intooffers
world apolitics.
of policy-makers
(or,constructed
as in Hans by
Morgenthau,
themselves
in the offers
position
of theories
men who look
put
feminist theorist
a critique
'over
his shoulder').
Instead,offeminists
critically
international
relations
policy-makers
(or,examine
as in Hans
Morgenthau,
look
themselves
in the position
from
standpoint Instead,
of people
who have
beenexamine
systematicaly
excluded
from
'over the
his shoulder').
feminists
critically
international
relations
l
power.
The
.feminist
standpoint
concePtion
as
I
use
it
does
not
imply
that
from the standpoint of people who have been systematicaly excluded from
feminist
necessarily
superior inasanI absolute
sense
traditional
The .feministare
standpoint
concePtion
use it does
notto imply
that
power. l perspectives
feminist
perspectives
necessarily
superiorinto
in antheabsolute
sense
to traditional
views
- only
that theyare
contain
valid insights
complex
realities
of world
views - only that they contain valid insights into the complex realities of world
politics.
politics.
3. Feminist pastmodernism is a difficult term to define, and seems to
3. Feminist
pastmodernism
difficultand.
term
to define,
and appears
seems to
cover
a variety of
tendencies; but isforaHarding
Sylvester
its essence
be
a resistance
to tendencies;
the conception
of Harding
'one trueand.
story'
to a 'falsely
universalising
cover
a variety of
but for
Sylvester
its essence
appears to
be a resistance
to the
of 'one
to a 'falsely
universalising
men,true
Asstory'
Harding
says, 'this
creates a
perspective'
such
as conception
that of white
of standpoint
white men,epistemologies
As Harding appear
says, 'this
creates to
a
perspective'
such tension:
as that the
powerful
internal
committed
committed
to
powerful
internal
tension:
standpoint
epistemologies
the' "one
true the
story"
about ourselves
and the appear
world around
us that
trying
to tell
trying
to tell the' "one
true story"regard
aboutasourselves
and fiction',4
the world around us that
the
postmodernist
epistemologies
a dangerous
the postmodernist epistemologies regard as a dangerous fiction',4
My argument in this commentary is that despite the postmodernist criticisms,
commentary
is that despite
theapostmodernist
argument in
of this
a feminist
standpoint
provides
particularly criticisms,
promising
theMyconception
feminist standpoint
provides
a particularly
the conception
of feminist
international
relations promising
theory. In
starting-point
for of
thea development
feminist
international
relations would
theory. be
In
starting-point
for the development
the
first instance,
the insightsof of
a feminist
standpoint
the first instance,
insights biases
of ain feminist
standpoint
would be
conceptual,
criticising the
the implicit
our thinking
about international
conceptual,Beginning
criticising
our thinking
relations.
butthe
notimplicit
ending biases
with aninanalysis
of the about
words international
and symbols
relations.
Beginning
but
not
ending
with
an
analysis
of
the
words
and symbols
used in international relations discourse, this analysis would
seek
used
in international
relations
discourse,
this analysis
to
improve
our understanding
of existing
international
relationswould
practiceseek
by
to improve how
our core
understanding
international
practice
by
international
relations relations
are affected
by the
examining
concepts of existing
examining how core concepts of international relations are affected by the
It)

Millennium: Journal orlntemational Studies, 1989. ISSN 0305-8298. Vol. 18, No.2, pp. 245-253

It)

Millennium: Journal orlntemational Studies, 1989. ISSN 0305-8298. Vol. 18, No.2, pp. 245-253

245
245
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Millennium
Millennium
gendered structure of international society. How have distinctively
male
values,structure
and social of
structures
in which male
valuesHow
are given
affected
gendered
international
society.
havepriority,
distinctively
That is,
whatpriority,
extent have
the
the
developed
in international
society?
maleconcepts
values, and
social structures
in which
male values
aretogiven
affected
of international
beensociety?
androcentric?
concepts
the concepts
developed in relations
international
That is,Having
to whatreexamined
extent have key
the
a feministHaving
standpoint
would faciliconcepts of
ofinternational
international relations,
relations work
been from
androcentric?
reexamined
key
of world
tate
deeper
empirical
analysis
concepts
offeminist
international
relations,
work
from apolitics.
feminist standpoint would facilitate deeper feminist empirical analysis of world politics.
The Feminist Standpoint on Power, Sovereignty, Reciprocity
The Feminist Standpoint on Power, Sovereignty, Reciprocity
It seems to me that a feminist analysis will have to reanalyse key concepts such as
reciprocity.
It will
ask
constructions
of
power,
It seemssovereignty,
to me that a and
feminist
analysis will
have
to whether
reanalysemale
key concepts
such as
these
have affected
how we think
about
and how
power,concepts
sovereignty,
and reciprocity.
It will
ask international
whether malerelations,
constructions
of
our
might
changed
by we
reflecting
on theinternational
concepts. relations, and how
thesethinking
concepts
havebeaffected
how
think about
of power.
Morgenthau
Consider,
example,
the concept
our
thinking for
might
be changed
by reflecting
on the
concepts. defines power rather
control the
overconcept
the minds
and actions
of otherdefines
men'.spower
Kenneth
N.
crudely
as 'man's
Consider,
for example,
of power.
Morgenthau
rather
Waltz
powercontrol
not as over
a relationship
the 'oldofand
simple
notion
that N.
an
the mindsbut
andasactions
other
men'.s
Kenneth
crudelyviews
as 'man's
agent
powerful
theasextent
that he affects
more
they
affectthat
him'.b
Waltzisviews
powertonot
a relationship
but asothers
the 'old
and than
simple
notion
an
theextent
conception
powerothers
as a characteristic
of a affect
relationship
More
now
agent common
is powerful
to isthe
that heofaffects
more than they
him'.6
B in iswhich
A has the of
ability
'toasget
B to do what of
heawould
otherbetween
A and now
the conception
power
a characteristic
relationship
More common
wise
not do'.?
between
A and B in which A has the ability 'to get B to do what he would otherAs not
David
wise
do'.?Baldwin has pointed out, any definition of power as control, to be
of of
power.
a definition
meaningful,
must specify
the scope
powerSuch
as control,
to be
As David Baldwin
has pointed
out,and
any domain
definition
one actor
influence
anotherSuch
actor awith
respect
therefore
refers
to the
'ability
meaningful,
must
specify
theofscope
and to
domain
of power.
definition
to
certain refers
outcomes'.
power another
as control
can with
obscure
the
therefore
to theNevertheless,
'ability of oneemphasis
actor to on
influence
actor
respect
of having
powerNevertheless,
- to affect emphasis
one's environment
with one's
end
to certain
outcomes'.
on power asconsistently
control can obscure
the
order-creating
of power,
preferences.
Furthermore,
end of having
power - toit omits
affect the
one's
environmentfunction
consistently
with which
one's
preferences.
Furthermore,
it omits
of power,
which
Hannah
Arendt
has referred
to the
as order-creating
'the human function
ability not
just to
act
but
to act Arendt
in concert'.'
Jean Bethke
has observed,
to asElshtain
'the human
ability 'the
not"high
just politics"
to act
Hannah
has As
referred
but to act from
in concert'.'
Jean Bethke
Elshtain
has observed,Machiavelli,
'the "high politics"
of these
texts (Thucydides,
el at.) is,
emergent
receivedAs
readings
emergent
from received
of theseconcept",
texts (Thucydides,
Machiavelli,
a/.) is,
in
Joan Scott's
words,readings
a "gendered
for it establishes
itselcrucial
of its
importance
and words,
publica "gendered
power, theconcept",
reasons for
for it and
the fact
in Joan Scott's
establishes
its crucial
women for
fromand
its work'.
highest
authority,
its exclusion
importance
and precisely
public inpower,
the of
reasons
the 9 fact of its
ofconcert
women would
from itscall
work'.
9
highest
authority,
precisely
its exclusion
Emphasising
power
as theinability
to act in
attention
to areas
as the
ability
to actseek
in concert
would to
callcope
attention
to areas
of Emphasising
world politicspower
in which
human
beings
to collaborate
with collective
of world politics
whicharising
humanfrom
beings
seek to collaborate
to cope
with collectiveIt
problems,
such asinthose
ecological
and economic
interdependence.
problems,
such
as
those
arising
from
ecological
and
economic
interdependence.
It
would more easily be recognised that world politics is far from
would
more
easily
be
recognised
that
world
politics
is
far
from
a zero-sum game in which one side's gain is the other's loss, and that the
a zero-sum
game in
one side's gain
is the
loss,time.
and Effective
that the
amount
of power
in which
the international
system
can other's
vary over
in thecreate
international
can
vary over
amount of power
international
institutions
'the abilitysystem
to act in
concert',
whichtime.
may Effective
not exist
international
create 'the ability to act in concert', which may not exist
ofsuch institutions.
in
the absenceinstitutions
in Redefining
the absencepower
ofsuchmay
institutions.
help us to rethink the notion of sovereignty. Hedley Bull
Redefining
power may
help us to
rethink the notion
of sovereignty.
Bull
defined
sovereignty
in classic
power-as-control
terms:
'internal Hedley
sovereignty
defined supremacy
sovereignty over
in classic
power-as-control
terms:(a 'internal
sovereignty
means
all other
authorities within
give!"') territory
and
and
means supremacy
over allsovereignty'
other authorities
within
(a give!"')
supremacy
but territory
independence
population',
while 'external
means 'not
population',
while 'externalSimilarly,
sovereignty'formeans
supremacy
independence
of
outside authorities'.lO
F.H.'not
Hinsley,
the but
original
idea of
of outside authorities'.JO
Similarly,
for F.H.
original political
idea of
sovereignty
was "the idea
that there
is a Hinsley,
final andthe absolute
sovereigntyin the
waspolitical
"the idea
that there
final
political
finaland
and absolute
absolute authority
authority
community',
and isthata 'no
authority in the political community', and that 'no final and absolute authority

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Feminist Standpoint
Feminist Standpoint

exists elsewhere' .11

Phrased
thus, sovereignty
seems to reflect traditionally male thinking, with its
exists
elsewhere'
.11
emphasis
on
control
and
its
penchant
for absolute
and dichotomous
categories.
Phrased thus, sovereignty seems
to reflect
traditionally
male thinking,
with its
From
this
perspective,
it
would
be
worthwhile
to
ask
the
Question:
does the
emphasis on control and its penchant for absolute and dichotomous categories.
territorial it would
sovereignty,
so fundamental
to the does
modern
concept
From thisofperspective,
be worthwhile
to ask the Question:
the
state
system,
have
anything
to
do
with
gender'!
Such
a
Question
could
be
concept of territorial sovereignty, so fundamental to the modern
fundame!1ta1
to
a
feminist
standpoint
analysis
of
world
politics.
state system, have anything to do with gender'! Such a Question could be
It is important,
however,standpoint
not to prejudge
the
to this question. After all,
fundame!1ta1
to a feminist
analysis
ofanswer
world politics.
theIt modern
doctrine
of
sovereignty
itself
arose
in
opposition
to that
is important, however, not to prejudge the answer to
this question.
Aftermost
all,
patriarchal
of
all
institutions,
the
Papacy."
Furthermore,
the
conception
the
the modern doctrine of sovereignty itself arose in opposition to that of
most
'sovereignty
of
the
people',
as
articulated
by
James
Wilson
and
other
American
patriarchal of all institutions, the Papacy." Furthermore, the conception of the
Federalists,
be people',
viewed as an
expression
of the Wilson
conception
power
as the
'sovereignty can
of the
articulated
by James
and of
other
American
in
concert.
In
order
to
act
in
concert,
'the
people,
as
the
fountain
of
ability
to
act
Federalists, can be viewed as an expression of the conception of power as the
government'
can
delegate
sovereignty,
'in
such
proportions,
to
such
bodies,
on
ability to act in concert. In order to act in concert, 'the people, as the fountain of
such
tenns, can
and delegate
under such
limitations,
as proportions,
they think toproper',ll
In the
government'
sovereignty,
'in such
such bodies,
on
United
States, and
national
sovereignty,
and its corollary,
citizenship,
such tenns,
under
such limitations,
as they national
think proper',ll
In were
the
the national
nineteenth
century and
as weapons
by national
anti-slavery
forces were
and
used
UnitedinStates,
sovereignty,
its corollary,
citizenship,
14
Critical
conceptual
analysis
must
be
therefore
had
a
progressive
character.
used in the nineteenth century as weapons by anti-slavery forces and
aware
of the
of established
such as sovereignty
and the
therefore
had complexity
a progressive
character. 14 concepts
Critical conceptual
analysis must
be
multiple
usescomplexity
to which
they haveconcepts
been such
put. asIndeed,
a feminist
aware of the
of established
sovereignty
and the
sovereignty
on
standpoint
might to
helpwhich
to distinguish
between
notions
multiple uses
they have
been
put.of Indeed,
a based
feminist
power-as-control
and to
those
based between
on power-as~action-in-concert,
and on
to
standpoint might help
distinguish
notions of sovereignty based
reinvogorate
the latter
which
recently been obscured byand
statist
power-as-control
and conception,
those based
on has
power-as~action-in-concert,
to
reinvogorate
the latter conception, which has recently been obscured by statist
and
realist thought.
Sovereignty
is closely related to reciprocity. As Martin Wight has argued, 'it
and
realist thought.
would
be impossible
to have
a society
of sovereign
while
Sovereignty
is closely
related
to reciprocity.
As states
Martinunless
Wighteach
hasstate,
argued,
'it
forhave
itself,
recognized
that every
other
stateeach
had state,
the right
to
claiming
would be sovereignty
impossible to
a society
of sovereign
states
unless
while
claim
enjoy its
own recognized
sovereigntythatasevery
well.
This
claimingand
sovereignty
for itself,
other
state reciprocity
had the rightwas
to
inherent
in theenjoy
Western
of sovereignty."s
specific
reciprocity
is
claim and
its conception
own sovereignty
as well.Such
This
reciprocity
was
inherent
the Western conception
sovereignty."s
specificforreciprocity
is
based
on in
individualistic
and egoisticofpremises:
it is aSuch
procedure
coexistence
based on 'tit
for ta1',16 What
I have elsewhere
reciprocity,
on the
individualistic
and egoistic
premises: called
it is a diffuse
procedure
for coexistence
based on
'tit foris ta1',16
WhatonI have
elsewhere
reciprocity, pattern
on the
based
social
norms called
and diffuse
a widespread
other
hand,
other hand, The
is norms
basedon on
andrests
a may
widespread
pattern
ofobligation.
whichsocial
diffusenorms
reciprocity
renect empathy
of
ofobligation.
on which
diffusetherefore
reciprocity
may renect
of
people towardThe
onenorms
another,
and could
be rests
consistent
with empathy
what Carol
people toward
andofcould
be Joan
consistent
with
what Carol
refers one
to asanother,
'an ethic
care'therefore
and what
Tronto
discusses
as a
Gilligan
and what self'."
Joan Tronto
discusses
as a
Gilligan refers
to as describable
'an ethic ofascare'
of identity
'the connected
The emphasis
of many
conception
conception
of identity
describable
as 'the
The emphasis
ofdiffermany
feminist
thinkers
on a way
ofthinking
thatconnected
identifiesself'."
with others
rather than
feminist thinkers
on a way
ofthinking
that identifies
with others
rather
than
differentiating
oneself from
others
could therefore
be an important
insight
into
conceptentiatingaoneself
others could
be an important
insight into
conceptualising
fonn offrom
reciprocity
that istherefore
nonn-conditioned
and empathetic
rather
than
ualising a fonn and
of reciprocity
individualistic
egoistic. that is nonn-conditioned and empathetic rather than
individualistic
andanalysis
egoistic.ofconcepts such as power, sovereignty and reciprocity,
Beyond specific
Beyond analysis
specific analysis
such asobjectivist
power, sovereignty
and reciprocity,
or reductionist
models, as
a feminist
would beofconcepts
critical of overly
ainfeminist
analysisIt would
critical of overly
objectivist
or reductionist
models,and
as
neorealism,l8
wouldbeemphasise
the role
of purposeful
human action
in neorealism,l8
It would emphasise
the roleofoflife,
purposeful
and
subjectivity
in creating
new conditions
and thehuman
need action
for what
subjectivity
in creating
new conditions
life, andinternational
the need relationsfor what
in studying
Evelyn Fox Keller
calls 'dynamic
objectivity' of
Evelyn
Keller calls
'dynamic
objectivity'
studying
international
relations'a
form Fox
of knowledge
that
grants to
the world in
around
us its
independent
integrity
'a
form
of
knowledge
that
grants
to
the
world
around
us
its
independent
integrity
but does so in a way that remains cognizant of, indeed relies
but does so in a way that remains cognizant of, indeed relies

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Millennium
on, OUf connectivity with that world', Dynamic objectivity uses 'consciousness of
self in the interests of a more elfective objectivity',19 Along with the concept of
empathy, that of dynamic objectivity could be particularly relevant to an
understanding of reciprocity in terms other than rational tit-for-tat.
Another appropriate target offeminist thinking would be dichotomous thinking
in general and in particular the dichotomy between hierarchy and markets as
modes of organisation. The inadequacy of such a dichotomy is a theme of
contemporary network theory in sociology,ZO which also seems related to the
emphasis of feminist theory on networks and the feminist opposition to
dichotomies. Feminist theories stress networks of family ties and links
between these networks and the state. The analysis may also be applicable to
transnational networks.
A feminist theory of international relations could help to articulate an
institutional vision of international relations - a network view, emphasising how
institutions could promote lateral co-operation among organised entities, states or
otherwise. Such an analysis would go beyond the question, who is
able to control whom, under what conditions? Such a question is still relevant to
crucial issue of international relations. but it does not capture well much of what
is important in the contemporary world, particularly insofar as states seek
collectively to cope with the consequences of interdependence. A feministinstitutionalist theory also asks, under what conditions are human beings able to
act in concert, across state boundaries, to create networks that achieve common
purposes?
Feminist Empiricism and Post modernism
Feminist empiricism takes a fundamentally sociological approach, investigating
how gender (the institutionalisation of sex differences) affects the modern
interstate system. Feminist empiricism emphasises that women have been victims
of patriarchal states and that both major aspects of modem international
relations - its institutionalisation of warfare and its reinforcement of state
sovereignty - have had harmful. and often disastrous, effects on women's lives. It

is often pointed out, furthermore, that Third World development has been
male-dominated and that women have often sutTered from the form that
development has taken. Recognition of these often-overlooked facts is an
important contribution offeminist empiricism.
Nevertheless, emphasising the victimisation of women by 'the patriarchal state'
or 'the interstate system' provides only limited insights into international
relations. Some analysts succumb to the temptation to discuss. in sweeping terms.
'the patriarchal state' or 'the war system' without making distinctions among
states or international systems. To do so commits the analytical error ofreifying a
stylised 'patriarchal state' or 'war system'. Furthermore, excoriating universal
repression seems to lead more toward moralising about its iniquity than toward
the analysis ofsources of variation in its incidence.
At a descriptive level, a valuable contribution of feminist empiricism would be
to document the extent to which the interstate system depends on the
under-rewarded labour of women or on gendered structures of society that

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Feminist Standpoint
disadvantage women. One can ask, as Cynthia Enloe has started to do, to
what extent the interstate system is dependent on gendered roles (diplomat,
soldier and so forth) that sharply differentiate, by gender, public and private
realms. 21 More ambitiously. feminist empiricism could seek to explore the
conditions under which repression of women is more or less severe: what types of
states, and of international systems, have more adverse consequences for women's
lives than others.
To make a major impact on thinking about international relations, however, it
will not be sufficient explicitly to point out that women have been marginalised in
the state, and in interstate politics. This reality is well-known, even if
conventional international relations theory has tended to ignore it. Feminist
empiricism will be most significant, it seems to me, if it is used in
conjunction with feminist standpoint reconceptualisations to re-examine central
concepts of international relations theory by asking about their values for
empirical research. Feminist empiricism, guided by feminist reconceptualisation,
could go beyond the question of'the role of women in international relations' to a
critical analysis of the extent to which contemporary international relations
theory helps us to understand what is happening in world politics today.
As indicated above, 'postmodemism' is a puzzling label that seems to denote a
variety of positions, One version of it, however, denies the possibility of having a
single epistemology, even one with slightly different variants. As Mary E.
Hawkesworth puts it, 'postmodemist insights counsel that Truth be
abandoned because it is a hegemonic and, hence, destructive illusion'.n
According to these postmodemists, 'feminist empiricism is committed to
untenable beliefs about the nature of knowledge and process of knowing'
and feminist standpoint theories 'remain committed to an overly simplistic model
of knowledge that tends to assume a "collective singular subject":'.2l In this view,
we cannot agree on an epistemological basis for substantive discussions: that is. on
standards against which we can evaluate knowledge claims.
It seems to me that this postmodernist project is a dead-end in the study of
international relations - and that it would be disastrous for feminist international
relations theory to pursue this path. Of course I am aware that social knowledge is
always value-laden, and that objectivity is an aspiration rather than an
accomplishment. But I object to the notion that because social science cannot
attain any perfectly reliable knowledge, it is justified for students of
society to 'obliterate the validity of reality'.24 I also object to the notion that we
should happily accept the existence of multiple incommensurable epistemologies,
each equally valid. Such a view seems to me to lead away from our knowledge of
the external world, and ultimately to a sort of nihilism. Hawkesworth argues that
'the world is more than a text' and that feminists should avoid 'the postmodernist
tendency to reject all reasons',B I would go further and say that agreement on
epistemological essentials constitutes a valuable scientific asset that should not be
discarded lightly. With such agreement, people with different substantive views or
intuitions can talk to each other in commensurable terms can perhaps come to an
agreement with the aid of evidence. As philosophers of science such as Imre
Lakatos have argued, the invalidity of naive falsificationism does not destroy the
possibility of establishing standards for scientific research: participants in the

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Millennium

scientific process apply criteria having to do with resolution of anomalies,

discovery of new facts, and what Lakatos calls 'the requirement of continuous
growth',26

A major aim of science, even social science, is to provide us with a common set
of epistemological tools, in a discipline, for ascertaining the nature of reality and
therefore testing the adequacy of OUf theories. This is not to pretend that any
knowledge is perfectly 'objective': clearly Olif values, our upbringing, our bodily
experiences and our positions in society - gender, class, culture, race - all affect
what we believe. But science has the value of narrowing gaps in belief by
providing common standards to test beliefs, and therefore disciplining our minds,
protecting us to some extent from bias. The very difficulty of achieving social
scientific knowledge is an argument for cherishing rather than discarding social
science and the aspiration for a more or less unified epistemology.
I fear that many feminist theorists of international relations may follow the
currently fashionable path of fragmenting epistemology, denying the possibility of
social science. But I think this would be an intellectual and moral disaster. As
Linda A1cofT points out, 'post-structuralist critiques of subjectivity pertain to the
construction of all subjects or they pertain to none ... Nominalism threatens to
wipe out feminism itself'. 27 That is, feminist theory cannot be without a positive
standpoint - it cannot be only adversarial. Retreating to postmodern
adversarial analysis would foreclose the relations that could be regarded as
valuable by people outside the feminist circle. Scientifically, it would lead away
from what I think feminist theory should do: generate novel hypotheses that could
then be evaluated with evidence, in a way that could lead to convincing results.
Politically, as Hawkesworth declares, 'should postmodernism's seductive text
gain ascendancy, it will not be an accident that power remains in the hands of the
white males who currently possess it. In a world of radical inequality, relativist
resignation reinforces the status quo'. 28
Conclusion
What I am calling for in these comments is an alliance between two
complementary critiques of ncorealism: first, what I call 'ncoliberal
institutionalism' and, second, an emerging feminist-standpoint theory of
international relations. Neoliberal institutionalism seeks, like neorealism, to
understand state behaviour as far as possible through an analysis of the nature of
the international system. Unlike neorealism, however, it argues that institutions'persistent and connected sets of rules (formal and informal) that prescribe
behavioral roles, constrain activity, and shape expectations' - are as important as
the distribution of power in affecting state behaviour. H Feminist standpoint
thinkers should find intellectual affinities with the institutionalist view of
international relations, since it emphasises power as ability to act in
concert, diffuse as well as specific reciprocity, and the role of networks as well as
hierarchies. The feminist perspective should, for its part, be able to give theories of
complex interdependence and institutional change a richer, more genderconscious formulation, and also to criticise the gender bias to be found in conceptions of interdependence and institutionalisation created by men.

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Feminist Standpoint
From a normative standpoint, the feminist emphasis on connectedness can also

make a major contribution. Suppose we begin with connectedness as a given

rather than separateness: suppose planet earth were the primary affiliation rather
than the separate nation-state? This is not helpful for positive analysis but might
provide a nonnative grounding for prescription. 10 An extension of
the work ofTronto and others into the international sphere could therefore make

a major contribution. In addition to critiquing mainstream theories of

international relations, feminist standpoint theories may reinforce an emerging
trend away from the fragmentation and atomisation inherent in traditional
conceptions of international relations, toward a network-oriented, institutionalised approach that is truer to the emerging reality. Feminist theories may also
contribute to a normative conception stressing connectedness, and obligations to
other inhabitants of planet earth, which would represent a radical break with the
contractual morality ofour previous conceptions.

Robert O. Keohane is Professor a/Government at Harvard Unh'ersity,

LittauerCenter. Cambridge. MA 02138 USA.

REFERENCES

These comments on the feminist standpoint in international relations theory were

originally prepared for a panel on Gender and International Relations organised
by Ann Tickner of Holy Cross University at the International Studies
Association/British International Studies Association Joint Convention in
London, March-April 1989. These remarks are highly tentative and are not as
thoroughly grounded in feminist analysis as they should be. Readers are asked to
view them merely as contributions to an emerging conversation, rather than as a
definitive statement of my views. In revising my comments, I had the benefit ofa
conference on Gender and International Relations held at the University of
Southern California in April 1989, organised by Jane Jaquelte and V. Spike
Peterson. 1am indebted to Mary F. Katzenstein. Nannerl O. Keohane, and Susan
Moller Okin for conversations about my preliminary ideas on this subject, and to
Donna Gregory for some very helpful criticisms of my treatment of
postmodernism.
I. Sandra Harding, The Science Question in Feminism (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University
Press, 1986), See Christine Sylvester, 'The Emperor's Theories and Transformations:

Looking at the Field Through Feminist Lenses', in Dennis Pirages and Christine Sylvester
(eds.), Transformations in the Global Political Economy (London:Macmillan, 1989, forthcoming).
2. Ibid., p. 16
3, See J, Ann Tickner, 'Hans Morgenthau's Principles of Political Realism: A Feminist
Reformulation', Millennium: Journal ofInternational Studies(Vot. 17, No.3, Winter 1988).

4. Sandra Harding, op. cit., p. 195.

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Millennium
5. Hans J. Morgenthau, Politics Among Nations. Fourth Edition (New
York: Knopf, 1967), p. 26.
6. Kenneth N. Waltz, TheoryoJlntertlational Politics (Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley,
1979),p.192.
7. David A. Baldwin, 'Power Analysis and World Politics', World Politics (Vol. 31, No.
2, January 1979), p. 179.
8. Quoted in Nancy CM. Hartsock, Money, Sex and Power: Toward a
Feminist Historical Materialism (New York: Longman, 1983), p. 219. See also J.
Ann Tickner, up. cit., p. 434.
9. Jean Bethke Eishtain, 'Feminist Themes and International Relations Discourse',

paper presented at the International Studies Association/British International Studies

Association Joint Convention, London, March-April, 1989, p. 6.
10. Hedley Bull, The Anarchical Society: A Study 0/ Order in World
Politics (New York: Columbia University Press, 1977), p. 8.
il. F.H. Hinsley, SovereiKnly(London: c.A. Watts, 1966).
12. See Martin Wight, Syslems of States (Leicester: Leicester University
Press, 1977).
13. James Wilson, quoted in Gordon S. Wood, The Creation (~l the
American Republic. J776~J787 (Chapel Hill,
University of North Carolina Press,
1969), p. 530. Wood points out that the Federalists appropriated the absolutist
concept of sovereignty - the notion there must be only one 'final, indivisible and
incontestable authority in every state to which all other authorities must be
ultimately subordinate' - to their purposes by creating the fiction of 'popular
sovereignty'. In another vein, however, Madison once admitted that if sovereignty
could not be divided, 'the political system of the United States is a chimera.
mocking the vain pretensions of human wisdom'. See Charles E. Merriman. II
History of American Political Theories (New York: Macmillan, 1903). p. 259,
citing an 1865 edition of Madison's Works, Volume 4. p. 61.
14. James H. Kettner, The Development oj'American Citizenship. /608-1870 (Chapel
Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1978).
15. Martin Wight, 01'. cit., p. 135.
16. Robert Axelrod, The Evolution 01' Cooperation (New York: Basic Books, 1984):
Robert O. Keohane. 'Reciprocity in International Relations', International OrKanization
(Vol. 40, No. I, Winter 1986), pp. 1-27.
17. Carol Gilligan, In a Di//i.'rent Voice: PsycholoKical Theory and Women's Development (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982); Joan C. Tronto, 'Beyond Gender
Difference to a Theory ofeare', Signs: Journal 01' Women in Culture and Society (Vol. 12,
No.4, Summer 1967). pp. 644~63. This point is also indebted to a talk by Joan Tronlo at a
conference on Gender and International Relations at the Center for International Studies.
University of Southern California, 28-9 April 1989. For a discussion of empathy as a factor
in international co-operation, see Robert O. Keohane, Afier Hegemony: Cooperation and
Discord in fhe World' Political Enmom.l' (Princeton. NJ: Princeton University Press. 1984).
ch.7.
18. Since I have often been misunderstood on Ihis point. let me emphasise that I do not
identify with neorealism, understood as 'an attempt to systematize political realism into a
rigorous, deductive systemic theory of international politics'. Robert O. Keohane. 'Realism,
Neorealism and the Study of World Politics'. in Robert O. Keohane (ed.). Nl'orealism and
Its Critics (New York: Columbia University Press, 1986), p. 15 and rn. 7 on p. 25; and
Robert O. Keohane, Inlernat;onallnstitllt;ons and State Power (Boulder. CO: Westview,
1989), pp. 7-9.
19. Evelyn Fox Keller, Gender and Science (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press,
1985), p. 117.
20. I am indebted for this point to discussions with, and unpublished
papers by, Walter Powell.
21. Some of this perspective is renected in Cynthia Enloe, DOI!.I' Khaki
Become You? The Militarization of Women's Lives (London: Pandora, 1983): I
am also indebted for this point to conversations with Professor Enloe.
22. Mary E. Hawkesworth, 'Knowers. Knowing, Known: Feminist Theory and Claims
of Truth', Signs: Journal (~rWomen in Cultllre and Society (Vol. 14, No.3, Spring 1989), p.
554.
23. Ibid., p. 553.
24. lowe this remark to Joan Tronto, who made it in the course of a

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Feminist Standpoint
cnttque of postrnodemist international relations thinking at the Gender and
International Relations conference, University ofSouthem California, April, 1989.
25. Mary E. Hawkesworth, op. cit., p. 556.
26. Imre 4kat?S; ~Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programs',
in lnue. LaKatos a!l~ Alan Musgrave (eds.), Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge
(Caiilbridge: Cambri'age University Press, 1970), p. 175.
27. Linda Alcoff,'Cultural Feminism Versus Post-Structuralism: The Identity Crisis in
Feminist Theory', Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and So('iety (Vol. 13. No.3, Spring
1988), p.419.
28. Mary E. Hawkesworth, op. cit., p. 557.
29. Robert O. Keohane, International Institutions and State Power. op.
cit" pp. 3,9.
30. See Robert O. Keohane, 'Closing the Fairness-Practice Gap', Ethics
and lnternalional Affairs (Yol.3, 1989), pp. 101-16.

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