ABSTRACT
This article examines the (re)presentations of militarised children in contemporary global politics. In particular, it looks at the iconic image of the 21st century's child soldier, the subject of which is constructed as a menacing yet pitiable product of the so-called new wars of the global South. Yet this familiar image is a small, one-dimensional and selective (re)presentation of the issues facing children who are associated with conflict and militarism. In this sense it is a problematic focal point for analysing the insecurity and human rights of children in and around conflict. Instead, this article argues that the image of the child soldier asserts an important influence in its effect upon global North-South relations. It demonstrates how the image of the child soldier can assist in constructing knowledge about the global South, and the global North's obligations to it, either through programmes of humanitarianism, or through war.
Subject(s)
Child Development , Child Welfare , Civil Defense , Human Rights , Politics , Child , Child Behavior/ethnology , Child Behavior/physiology , Child Behavior/psychology , Child Welfare/economics , Child Welfare/ethnology , Child Welfare/history , Child Welfare/legislation & jurisprudence , Child Welfare/psychology , Civil Defense/economics , Civil Defense/education , Civil Defense/history , Civil Defense/legislation & jurisprudence , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , Human Rights/economics , Human Rights/education , Human Rights/history , Human Rights/legislation & jurisprudence , Human Rights/psychology , Human Rights Abuses/economics , Human Rights Abuses/ethnology , Human Rights Abuses/history , Human Rights Abuses/legislation & jurisprudence , Human Rights Abuses/psychology , Humans , Internationality/history , Military Personnel/education , Military Personnel/history , Military Personnel/legislation & jurisprudence , Military Personnel/psychologyABSTRACT
This article explores the increase in gender-based violence against civilian women in Iraq since 2003 and connects it to the U.S.-led invasion of that country. It outlines the complex nature of the gender-based violence and the impact that it has had on civilian women in Iraq. It then analyzes the links between this violence and the politics of the postinvasion period. This article also explores how this violence has been politicized. Ultimately, the article (re)politicizes gender-based violence through a feminist lens and argues that the security of Iraq's women is fundamental to the stability of Iraq as a whole.
