A Feminist Security Studies Perspective. The Impact of 9/11 on Women's Participation in U.S. Politics.

At present a number of researchers believe that international relations are predominantly "masculine" in nature, where women's "voices" in politics have either been forgotten or remained unheard. After the 9/11 terrorist attack «hard power» methods of conflict resolution began to dominate in the international relations. Military interventions in the Middle East and North Africa increased in order to combat the threat of international terrorism. However, these methods have not only failed to resolve international security issues, but have only accelerated the spread of extremism. The feminists of the Third wave, who criticized American policy in Afghanistan and Iraq, remained unheard of in the fight against global security challenges. After the 9/11 terrorist attack, there was a decrease in the participation of women in the U.S. politics due to the dominance of the militarized tools of resolution of international disputes. In modern international relations, the political representation of women, as before, remains at a low level, despite the ongoing UN programs in the field of gender balance and non-discrimination. The debate on gender equality in all spheres of life is of particular importance today, as there are still isolated outbreaks of sexism and gross violations of women's rights.