Militarism, Gender and War in the Nordics

Noora Kotilainen is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Helsinki, and a Non-Resident Fellow at FIIA, Principal Investigator (PI) of the project “The Language of Military Power in Finnish Democracy” and co-PI of the FemWars Community. She focuses on Media Studies and International Politics, militarism and representations of violence, wars and crises.

Leena Vastapuu is an Assistant Professor and Associate Senior Lecturer in the area of gender, peace and security at the Swedish Defence University (FHS), and co-PI of the FemWars Community. Her research concentrates on women and girls in and around war, as well as everyday militarisation in the Nordics.

Cynthia Enloe is an internationally renowned scholar whose work has shaped our understanding of global gender politics and militarism in profound ways. Professor Enloe’s feminist teaching and research have explored the interplay of gendered politics in both the national and international arenas. She is currently a Research Professor in the Department of Sustainability and Social Justice at Clark University, Massachusetts. She has written more than 15 books and her new book Twelve Feminist Lessons of War (University of California Press, 9/2023) draws on first hand experiences of war from women in places as diverse as Ukraine, Myanmar, Somalia, Vietnam, Rwanda, Algeria, Syria, and Northern Ireland to show how women’s wars are not men’s wars. With her engaging trademark style, Cynthia Enloe demonstrates how patriarchy and militarism have embedded themselves in our institutions and our personal lives.

Elin Berg is a Doctoral Researcher in War Studies at the Swedish Defense University, where she is part of the Gender, Peace & Security research team. In her research, she explores formal and informal gender integration mechanisms and strategies in the Swedish Armed Forces, including the protection of LGBTQIA+ rights.

Zahra Edalati is a PhD researcher at the Tampere Peace Research Institute at Tampere University. In her research, she is looking at transnational networks of solidarity among Iranian women in Iran and in the diaspora. Her interests include feminist peace, everyday peace, intersectionality, identity politics and decolonizing perspective.

Laura Junka-Aikio is Professor of Northern Politics and Government at the University of Lapland. She seeks to develop approaches to contemporary colonialism drawing especially on International Politics, Indigenous Studies and Cultural Studies.

Silja Bára Ómarsdóttir is Professor of International Affairs at the University of Iceland and co-PI of the FemWars Community. Her research focuses on feminist politics, Icelandic security and foreign policy.

Annick Wibben is Anna Lindh Professor for gender, peace and security at the Swedish Defence University in Stockholm, and co-PI of the FemWars Community. She is best known for her work in Feminist Security & Peace Studies, but also has an interest in methodology and narrative.