Perspectives of women researchers on disarmament, national security, and world order

Forty women scholars professionally active in the fields of disarmament, national security and world order from 17 countries responded to questions regarding their own current and planned research, their evaluation of existing work in these fields, their estimates of the possible major steps toward disarmament, and their views on whether women researchers approach disarmament questions differently than men. The respondents divided into (1) those seeking new conceptual frameworks in order to remedy security problems in the existing social order and (2) those searching for new social structure, seeing the existing order as itself an obstacle to peace. Both groups rejected current research as lacking significant concepts, bogged down in meaningless detail, too parochial, with too little attention to process and conflict-management skills. The New Frameworks scholars focus on better process models for describing international interaction. The New Order scholars focus on alternative, more localist models of the international order. Both groups show skill in relating macrolevel data to the human experience of conflict. Most preferred to be recognized as scholars as per se, not as women scholars, but many felt that their marginal status in a predominately male research field made them more objective, gave them a more wholistic view of the problems of war and peace, than their male colleagues. It is recommended that women be given more support as researchers in this field, and that their perspectives be taken account of.