The suffragist peace : / how women shape the politics of war

## Abstract Not all radical social changes are revolutionary and not all revolutionary changes are noticed. Profound changes sometimes unfold over time; they may even remain invisible for centuries. The year 1893 witnessed the dawn of a new era—one in which women around the world entered the political realm. People expected profound social change to follow as political parties centered around a unique set of women’s issues emerged as formidable, unified forces. But this understanding of the meaning of women’s suffrage did not last. Indeed, many people today would be hard pressed to identify a lasting and significant social or political change brought about by women’s votes. And yet, could it be that radical change has gone unnoticed and unappreciated? This book asks whether women’s political influence is changing politics between nations. While it is too soon to characterize the full extent, and impossible to know for sure, the book shows that the historical facts are strikingly consistent with a suffragist peace: women’s inclusion in democratic electorates has been a primary cause of peace in the modern era. The twentieth century witnessed some of the most radical technological, economic, and political changes in history—the spread of nuclear weapons, capitalism, and democracy, among others. But current accounts have overlooked one of the most dramatic transformations of the twentieth century as a potential source of peace: the massive redistribution of political power as millions of women around the world entered the political realm. Cover Series Page The Suffragist Peace: How Women Shape the Politics of War Copyright Contents List of Figures List of Tables Introduction 1: The Hope for Democracy Britain and the Fate of the Ottoman Empire The Sun Never Sets In Another Democracy Far, Far Away . . . Conclusion 2: The Hope for Suffrage and Peace in the New Century Conclusion 3: Gender and Aggression: Nature or Nurture? Defining Sex Gender, Aggression, and Preferences about War and Peace But Why the Gender Gap? The Role of Biology How Different Are Male and Female Brains? Conclusion 4: Suffrage, Democracy, and War Women’s Suffrage and Peace What Else Might Explain These Patterns? Conclusion 5: Women’s Votes and the World Wars Wilson and Women in the West A Western Comeback Women in Britain and the Rise of Hitler Women and the End of the Cold War Conclusion 6: Do Women Leaders Spell the End of War? The Historical Record of Women Leaders and War Kings and Queens The Leaders of Today Leaders Are Not Average Incentives to Misrepresent Conclusion 7: Women and War in the Modern Era The Four Mothers Shaping an Election Shifting the Debate Liberian Women for Peace A Country Terrorized Mobilizing for Peace An Enduring Peace Women and Japan’s Constitutional Pacifism The Origins of the “No War” Clause Article 9, Reinterpreted Women as Roadblocks to Revision The Slow Erosion Conclusion 8: The Future Who Votes Matters Activists Put Peace on the Ballot Communities Build Peace Protecting Women’s Representation around the World Changing the Face of Leadership or Changing the Narratives Appendix Data on Women’s Suffrage The Relationship Between Measures of Democracy and Suffrage Other Possible Explanations Notes References Acknowledgements Index A deep and historical examination of how the political influence of women at the ballot box has shaped the course of war and peace. In the modern age, some parts of the world are experiencing a long peace. Nuclear weapons, capitalism and the widespread adoption of democratic institutions have been credited with fostering this relatively peaceful period. Yet, these accounts overlook one of the most dramatic transformations of the 20th century: the massive redistribution of political power as millions of women around the world won the right to vote. Through gripping history and careful reasoning, this book examines how the political influence of women at the ballot box has shaped war and peace. What would a world ruled by women look like? For more than a hundred years, conventional wisdom held that women's votes had little effect. That view is changing - it turns out that women voters had a profound effect on the world we know and in ways we hardly understand. A world ruled by women's voices is a world that is less willing to fall in love with war as a noble end in itself, less prone to lapse into violence for the sake of maintaining an image. In other words, it is the world we live in now, more so than we have ever realized. "In this book, we ask whether women's political influence is changing politics between nations. While it is too soon to characterize the full extent, and impossible to know for sure, we show that the historical facts are strikingly consistent with a suffragist peace : women's inclusion in democratic electorates has been a primary cause of peace in the modern era. The 20th century witnessed some of the most radical technological, economic and political changes in history - the spread of nuclear weapons, capitalism and democracy, among others. But current accounts have overlooked one of the most dramatic transformations of the 20th century as a potential source of peace: the massive redistribution of political power as millions of women around the world entered the political realm"-- Provided by publisher Women's suffrage is often recognized as one of the most significant political events of the 20th century. But conventional wisdom has long held that giving women the right to vote has had little effect on our world. The Suffragist Peace shatters this perspective. An authoritative history of the entire century in which women have had the vote, this book shows how the political influence of women at the ballot box has made the world a more peaceful place. Wars have not ended, but this book powerfully demonstrates how women gaining the franchise has contributed to war's decline over the past century