War, women, and power: from violence to mobilization in Rwanda and Bosnia-Herzegovina

Abstract

As a country transitions from violent conflict to ‘peace’, men and women often have different visions for the postwar future, a term that political scientist Jane Parpart refers to as ‘imagined peace’. These differences are very apparent in Marie E. Berry's well-researched book, War, women, and power, a comparative study not only of the ways in which women responded to the wars in Rwanda and Bosnia, but also of what happened to the women and their visions for the future after the war officially ended. For, as Berry astutely notes, even when war is officially over and the country is ‘at peace’, it is not a conflict-free period for women. That point holds true for the women in both these cases, albeit for different reasons. Berry draws on a significant number of interviews in both countries, as well as on the relevant literature, to provide a deep understanding of what happened to women during the conflicts, what women did to respond to the situation and what happened after the conflicts ended. She uses history to frame the wars in each of the countries in order to give readers a context for understanding the outbreak of violence and women's experiences.

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