PRIO invites you to a seminar on with Joshua Goldsteinon gender and war. The seminar will be chaired by Scott Gates. Discussant: Inger Skjelsbæk.

Throughout history and across cultures, combatants in the world’s many wars have overwhelmingly been male. Why this is so has been an enduring puzzle for which various academic disciplines have proposed answers.

At this seminar, Joshua Goldstein will review evidence from history and biology, among other disciplines, about whether women are ill-suited to fight in wars as compared to their male counterparts. On the whole, the evidence shows that not only do women meet the physical and psychological requirements for fighting, but when given the chance they have performed quite well. This conclusion deepens the mystery of why societies, which hightly value success in warfare, have so rarely mobilized the potential military power of women as combatants.

This seminar is co-organized by PRIO's gender research teamand Centre for the Study of Civil Warat PRIO.

Please register with seminar@prio.no if you want to take part in this seminar!