Re/Statements: Feminism and State Sovereignty in International Law †

Abstract

The chapter shows a number of feminist approaches to international law are predicated on the analogy between the sovereign State and the unified self. It argues that feminist analyses of the sovereign State as a unified self have drawn attention only to the negative aspects of State sovereignty for women, as Karen Engle comments, whereas sovereignty must be understood as a more profoundly ambivalent institution. The chapter outlines three aspects of State sovereignty: statism, the centrality of the State to international lawmaking, and the State as a bounded, unified self. It explores the analogy of State to individual, in particular as it has appeared in the feminist international legal literature. The chapter discusses international civil society as an alternative space for women's participation in international law, analyzing several examples of the growing involvement of non-governmental organizations in the creation of "soft" law.

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