Cynthia H. Enloe

Making Feminist Sense of International Politics

Bananas, Beaches & Bases

Cynthia Enloe

Bananas, Beaches and Bases

Winona 

A fundamental text for anyone studying International Relations, Politics, post-colonial theory, or feminism. Actually, everyone should read this even if they aren't studying any of those subjects. It provides an eye opening insight into how capitalism and orthodox IR theory work hand-in-hand to facilitate the economic and sexual exploitation of BIPOC around the world. 

Enloe delivers her analysis on the matter in a proactive manner. She intertwines empirical realities with a biting narrative that reads akin to a journalistic piece, whilst still paying respect to the facts on the ground. Respect is an important word here: being a white, upper-class American woman Enloe has a lot of privilege, but she manages to treat all the women she writes about with utmost compassion. This is reflected in her referencing of marginalised scholars from Global South backgrounds who are often ignored in academia because their research is not considered worth publishing. She engages with BIPOC scholars throughout the text, elevating their voices, and encouraging the reader to do further research from own-voices scholarship. 

This is definitely an excellent starting point if you want to see how gender shapes global politics and how capitalism and militarism shape gender relations, in turn. 

One of the few things I've read for an assignment that I actually derived pleasure from. Still so good even after constant re-reads and still so damn relevant!

Angbeen Abbas

very well written, comprehensive overview of feminist ir theory and how it relates to the day to day 

"A new edition of Bananas, Beaches and Bases is cause for cosmic good cheer. This trailblazing treatment of the gender politics of global market and military projects is a feminist classic. Always ahead of the curve, before globalization had achieved cache in academic circles, Enloe was there, cajoling Western feminists out of our politicial parochialism. There is no more creative, insightful, engaging feminist guide to international politics." Judith Stacy, author of Brave New Families - from cover.

Bananas, Beaches & Bases Making Feminist Sense of International Politics

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