Waging Peace: Female Legislators and a State’s Propensity for War

Stephen F Austin State University, Baker Pattillo Student Center, Student Center Theatre and Twilight Ballroom

Increasing conflict in the international system prompts policymakers and researchers alike to investigate unconventional methods of creating and maintaining peace. For decades, feminist theorists have argued that women exert a pacifying influence at all levels of society; by extension, their engagement in government would temper the aggressive tendencies of states. It stands to reason that the presence of female legislators in a state’s political system decreases its likelihood of conflict.