injustice, socio-political inequality) that underpins direct state-sanctioned
violence are seen as secondary to the manly study of war and conflict in
International Relations due to their association with domestic ‘soft’
(read: feminine) politics. As a result, neo-realist and neo-liberal
International Relations scholars theorize politics and the international
realm ‘in a way that guarantees that women will be absent from their
inquiry, and that their research agendas remain unaltered’ (Steurnagel
1990: 79–80).