Gender Issues

Violence is a persistent element of modern history and it always has been gendered. Today’s violent times have politicized and mobilized new publics, generated creative forms of resistance, incited the most unlikely coalitions, and emboldened to live life differently. The systemic use of rape in warfare, nationalism and settler colonialism, the persistency of intimate partner violence and the increasingly open racist, sexist, transphobic and homophobic discrimination are just a few examples of violence’s omnipresent gender dimension. The contributions of this volume analyse violence and multiple forms of resistance from an interdisciplinary gender perspective. They show that violence is not just a central and powerful structuring principle of gender, sexuality, ethnicity, race and class, but that it is also part of the fabric of nation-states and structures all social relations. In addition, the contributions depict manifold strategies and tactics of confronting gendered violence.

This anthology addresses the current understanding of democracy from a feminist, intersectional and transnational perspective with a particular focus on the relevance of women’s suffrage in Switzerland since 1971, and analyses challenges for women’s political participation worldwide. It points to the significance of memory politics, political struggles and discourses on citizenship and human rights that shape democracies today. Furthermore, it examines how digitalization affects women's democratic participation, exploring both the opportunities it opens up and the barriers it may create, while also expanding the concept of democracy beyond traditional state institutions.