Women at War
| Published date | 01 September 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/20419058231198576 |
| Author | Peter Geoghegan |
| Date | 01 September 2023 |
SEPTEMBER 2023•POLITICAL INSIGHT3
Women
at War
The involvement of women in
war is nothing new. As of the
beginning of May this year, some
42,000 women were serving in
the Ukrainian military. Of those around
5,000 are directly on the frontline ghting
the Russian invasion.
As Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s Deputy
Minister of Defence, put it recently: ‘They
are not written about or lmed. Meanwhile,
they are working in the army. They do their
important work every day.’
While women have often been involved
in armed conicts, their role has often
been downplayed – or denied completely.
During the US invasion of Afghanistan
following 9/11, ocial American military
policy was that women were not involved
in frontline ghting.
However, as Jennifer Greenburg reports
in this issue’s cover feature, all-female teams
were often at the forefront of US military
operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
These all-female teams were attached to
male combat units. Their goal was to allow
the US army to enter spaces men could not.
But they had a larger aim, too: to help the
invading forces win ‘the battle for hearts
and minds’.
All-female army units have been hailed as
a victory for gender equality, but the reality
for women in combat is very dierent,
with many female veterans left with
post-traumatic stress but denied access to
veterans’ healthcare and disability services.
Away from the military frontline, the big
political question in Britain is who will win
the next general election. With Labour
enjoying double-digit leads in the polls,
most expect Keir Starmer to become the
next prime minister. But what kind of
political landscape will he inherit?
Labour governments have often
struggled to maintain popularity in
challenging economic circumstances. Ben
Jackson argues that Starmer will have to
buck historical trends if he is to succeed
in oce in the face of a dysfunctional
economy.
One issue that the next prime minister
will inherit is the future of the United
Kingdom itself. While Northern Ireland’s
devolved assembly remains suspended at
the time of writing, its politics is less frozen.
While the republicans of Sinn Féin
topped the poll in the most recent
elections followed by the Democratic
Unionist Party, there has been a marked
growth in support for cross-community
parties, particularly the avowedly non-
sectarian Alliance. As Jamie Pow writes,
this growing bloc of non-aligned voters
could have a major say in Northern Ireland’s
political – and constitutional – future.
In the last issue of
Political Insight
, I
wondered aloud whether all political
careers end in failure. I was writing about
Nicola Sturgeon, but in this issue, Bill
Jones returns to Enoch Powell’s famous
maxim – but argues that when it comes
to political careers failure is less common
than many think.
One exception that does prove Powell’s
rule is politicians who become embroiled
in scandal. From ‘cash for questions’ to MPs’
expenses, the taint of scandal is often the
death knell for a political career. But what
makes a political scandal? And how can
politicians respond when they become the
story? Paula Keaveney investigates.
One politician who has served up
numerous high-prole incidents is Recep
Tayyip Erdogan. Despite grave economic
problems, the Turkish President successfully
won re-election earlier this year. Reecting
on Erdogan’s latest election win, Umut
Korkut, Tarik Basbugoglu and Osman Sahin
argue that the Turkish premier successfully
mobilised identity politics to defeat an
embattled opposition.
Elsewhere, Rita Abrahamsen and Michael
C. Williams report from the ‘National
Conservatism’ conference that took place
in London in May and situate it in a wider
attempt to build a transnational radical
Right. William Hurst reects on China’s
global ambitions and argues that to
understand Beijing we must avoid simplistic
binary thinking and instead carefully analyse
its internal and external politics.
The politics of climate change is rapidly
reshaping geopolitics. In this issue’s In
Focus, Benjamin D. Hennig plots the politics
of the Arctic, where rapidly melting ice
opens up the possibility of exploiting the
region’s vast natural resources.
Chris Armstrong examines the politics of
the High Seas and argues that we need a
new politics to protect the world’s oceans.
Meanwhile, in the Last Word slot, Sarah
Pickard reects on how young people have
become engaged by Just Stop Oil and the
climate emergency.
As the earth continues to heat, climate
change is certain to become a dening
feature of politics in the years to come. Less
certain is whether politicians – and their
electorates – can match the scale of the
challenge.
Peter Geoghegan
Editor
Political Insight September 2023.indd 3Political Insight September 2023.indd 314/08/2023 12:2414/08/2023 12:24
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