Gender and Nation

"I've been following Nira Yuval-Davis' work on issues of race, ethnicity, class, gender, and nation for some time. This is the book that we've all been waiting for. Gender and Nation spells out in clear and accessible prose the main ideas of a complex and vitally important area of feminist scholarship. For far too long, issues of nationhood, citizenship and the military have been viewed as male provinces. Turning this literature on its head, Yuval-Davis demonstrates that issues of gender remain central to nationalist struggles on both sides of state power. Especially refreshing is [the book's] ability to visualize a politics that takes these contested power relations into account.... a must read."

"Nira Yuval-Davis carries feminist strategy a bold step forward, avoiding essentialism, skirting relativism to develop a theory of 'transversal' alliances between women founded not on diverse identities but on shared values. In the process, she rewrites the theory of nationalism. A much-needed book."

"The question of gender has been systematically neglected in traditional political science. In Gender and Nation Nira Yuval-Davis shows how women reproduce nations biologically, culturally and symbolically. In criticizing the assumptions of the public/private split, her own argument is intensely personal and political. An extraordinarily powerful and comprehensive feminist account of the nation-state, it presents a far-reaching critique of the gender-blindness of political theory. Gender and Nation is a major contribution to the expanding field of citizenship studies. A significant intellectual achievement, it is not a text to be missed."

"In her eagerly awaited book, Nira Yuval-Davis draws us into an intense end-of-the-century feminist conversation. Yuval-Davis is the savvy and worldly thinker I trust to craft the question, sort out the answers - about the urgent matters of citizenship and nationalism."

"Available texts on nationalism do not usually relate to women. Gender and Nation is a timely supplement to the literature.... Essential reading for students of women's studies, sociology and politics."

"A comprehensive treatment of key issues which relate to gender, nation and nationalism. It is an insightful and highly readable theoretical work which incorporates the most recent literature on these issues... a useful addition to either individual or combined courses on the topics of gender, nations and nationalism, race and ethnicity."

"Yuval-Davis's main argument is that neither 'nation' nor 'gender' can be understood separately. She posits several ways in which women are targeted as ethnic subjects.... a necessary read."

"Through this very thorough form of presentation, Yuval-Davis not only convinces the reader that the gender and nation inter-relationship is a crucial one, reinforcing the mutual constructions of each other, but she also manages to highlight the complexity of their shared bond. The book will be of great value to those working in the field of international relations theories as well as to all readers with an interest in gender studies."

"Yuval-Davis addresses both theory and practice starting out with a discussion of theorising about gender, women, ethnicity and nation, moving on to a more sustained analysis of how these discourses have impacted upon women. The analysis then widens as she looks at cultural reproduction and gender, citizenship, the military and war before ending up with a final discussion on women, ethnicity and empowerment.... This is an interesting, readable and thoughtful book and should be read by everyone interested in nations and ethnicities."

"Cleary written with lively examples, Gender and Nation tackles nationalism in a way that is sensitive to gender, ethnicity and other forms of diversity. It is an important research reference and can be equally well used in graduate and undergraduate resources."