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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sussex Research Online A University of Sussex DPhil thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details Performing Gender in the ‘Theatre of War’: Embodying the Invasion, Counterinsurgency and Exit Strategy in Afghanistan Synne Laastad Dyvik Submitted for the degree of PhD in International Relations University of Sussex April 2013 2 Declaration: I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be, submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature:……………………………………… Material used in chapter four and five have appeared in: Dyvik, S.L. (2013) ‘Women as ‘Practitioners’ and ‘Targets’: Gender and Counterinsurgency in Afghanistan’. International Feminist Journal of Politics. ForthComing. 3 UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX SYNNE LAASTAD DYVIK DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY PERFORMING GENDER IN THE ‘THEATRE OF WAR’: EMBODYING THE INVASION, COUNTERINSURGENCY AND EXIT STRATEGY IN AFGHANISTAN SUMMARY This thesis offers a CritiCal feminist reading of the war in Afghanistan, from invasion, through the practiCe of Counterinsurgency, to the training of the Afghan National Army as a Central part of NATO’s exit strategy. EmpiriCally it foCuses on the disCourses, poliCies and practiCes of the US and Norwegian militaries in Afghanistan. It draws on a range of material including military doCtrine and poliCy, parliamentary disCussions, publiC poliCy doCuments, interviews, politiCal statements and soldiers’ memoirs. Deploying the theoretiCal framework of performative gender with an emphasis on embodiment, it shows how partiCular gendered bodies are Called into being and how the distinct practiCes of war in Afghanistan produCe and rely on a series of multiple, fluid and, at times, ContradiCtory performances of masCulinity and femininity. It demonstrates how gendered performances should not be Considered superfluous, but rather integral to the practiCes of war. It illustrates this, first, by examining the produCtion of the (in) visible ‘body in the burqa’ alongside the ‘protective masCulinity’ of Western politiCians in the legitimation of the invasion; second, through the ‘soldier-sCholars’, ‘warriors’ and the Female Engagement Teams (FETs) in practiCes of ‘population-CentriC’ Counterinsurgency, examining the ways in whiCh Counterinsurgency is a gendered and embodied practiCe; and third, through the remaking of the fledgling Afghan National Army (ANA) recruits in the NATO exit strategy. The thesis furthers feminist studies on gender and war in International Relations by emphasising the multipliCity of gendered bodies and performances by problematizing singular notions of masCulinity and femininity. It Contributes to existing literature that reads the war in Afghanistan as a neoColonial and biopolitiCal practiCe, enhancing these readings by paying attention to the gendering of bodies and their performances, thereby expanding CritiCal investigations into late modern ways of war and counterinsurgency. 4 Performing Gender in the ‘Theatre of War’: Embodying the Invasion, Counterinsurgency and Exit Strategy in Afghanistan 1 Acknowledgements 6 Abbreviations, Acronyms and Glossary: 8 Chapter 1 - Introduction 11 1.0 Situating the Project and the Empirical Focus 12 1.1 US and Norway in Afghanistan 15 2.0 Methodological and Epistemological Reflections 22 2.1 Discourse, Productions and Performances 22 2.2 Memoirs, Experience and Embodiment 28 3.0 The Argument and Structure of the Thesis 31 Chapter 2 - Performing Gender in the ‘Theatre of War’ 38 1.0 Sex, Gender, Bodies and Performativity 39 1.1 Intersections, Assemblages and Racialized bodies 43 2.0 Military Masculinities and War Writing (on) Bodies 46 2.1 The Military Writing (on) Bodies 47 2.2 Military Masculinities - Multiplicity, Fluidity and Change 51 2.3 Writing Women’s Martial Bodies 58 3.0 Gender, Biopolitics and Counterinsurgency 60 Conclusion 63 Chapter 3 -The Gendered Invasion of Afghanistan: The (In)Visible ‘Body in the Burqa’ and Performances of ‘Protective Masculinity’ 65 1.0 ‘A Fight for the Rights and Dignity of Women’ 67 1.1 Reinventing President Bush 68 1.2 Maternalism and Imperialism 70 2.0 The (In)Visible ‘Body in the Burqa’ 75 2.1 Unveiling the Afghan Woman 75 2.2 Beauty without Borders 79 3.0 Performances of Masculinities in Foreign Policy 81 3.1 Performing ‘Protective Masculinity’ 82 3.2 Playing with ‘the Big Boys’ 87 Conclusion 90 Chapter 4 -The Practice of ‘Population-Centric’ Counterinsurgency: Reimagining the ‘Battlefield of War’ and the Multiplicity of Military Masculinities 92 1.0 Reimagining and Governing the ‘Battlefield of War’ 94 1.1 The Dawn of the’ Soldier-Scholars’ 99 1.2 Culture and Counterinsurgency 102 5 2.0 The Multiple Military Masculinities of Counterinsurgency 107 2.1 The ‘Killing and Caring’ of Counterinsurgency 111 2.2 ‘War is Better than Sex’ 115 2.3 Emotions, Sexuality and Heteronormativity 119 2.4 ‘Fobbits’, ‘Ducks’ and ‘Turtles’ 121 Conclusion 127 Chapter 5 - The Practice of ‘Population-Centric Counterinsurgency’: Writing Women’s Bodies in War 130 1.0 Female Engagement Teams (FETs) and the ‘Gender Perspective’ 133 2.0 Creating Potential Allies 140 2.1 Women as Eyes and Ears 142 2.2 Armed Empowerment 146 3.0 A Woman’s Touch to Counterinsurgency 149 3.1 A Feminine Labour of Care 150 3.2 The Politics of Martial Femininity 154 Conclusion 158 Chapter 6 - (Re)Producing Martial Bodies and Military Masculinities: The Training of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and the ‘Exit Strategy’ 161 1.0 Enabling the ‘Exit Strategy’ and Handing over Security 163 2.0 Moulding the Afghan Soldier Body 166 2.1 ‘Strong fighters don’t always make good soldiers’ 168 2.2 Holding Hands and Watching Porn 171 2.3 To help them become better Afghans 177 3.0 Producing the Oriental Other in ‘the Land that Time Forgot’ 180 3.1 The Politics of Cultural Incompatibility 186 Conclusion 189 Chapter 7 - Conclusions 192 1.0 Writing Martial Bodies of the War in Afghanistan 195 2.0 Counterinsurgency as ‘Killing and Caring’ 199 3.0 Towards a Feminist Reading of Late Modern Warfare 206 Bibliography: 211 6 Acknowledgements I enjoy reading acknowledgements. They remind me that academiC work is always a Collective proCess that draws on a number of people’s kindness, generosity, knowledge, engagement, CritiCism and support. No less so with this work, and I am glad to have the opportunity to thank those whose Company and time has engaged and sustained me through the ups and downs of the thesis writing proCess. First and foremost, a huge amount of gratitude is owed to my wonderfully generous and intellectually stimulating supervisors Louiza Odysseos and Anna Stavrianakis. Your gracious Combination of pushing me in new and exCiting directions, giving me a break when I needed it, Calming me down and Challenging me with new ideas and perspectives has truly driven this researCh forward. I Could not have Completed this proCess without you and I thank you both so very muCh! I am also grateful to the wider academiC Community at Sussex and my many friends and Colleagues there. Thanks to Beate Jahn, Sam Knafo, Lara Montesinos Coleman, Kamran Matin, and Paul Kirby for academiC adviCe and support. Also thanks to Claire Duncanson and Cynthia Weber for agreeing to examine me and for providing me with great adviCe on the road ahead. Thanks also to Lisa Smirl, who was always supportive of this work. You lit up the Sussex IR corridor for too short a time. Thanks to all round good people – Ana, Andrei, Can, Clemens, Ishan, Katie, RiChard, Steffan, Tom, and Yuliya for disCussions, laughs, drinks and good times. Thanks to my offiCe Crew – Neil, Darius, Tom and Sam – you’ve sustained me with ample supplies of tea, penguins and jokes of questionable standard. Thanks to Lauren for letting me piCk your brain and disCussing my thoughts with you. Thanks to Rehab for being there from the start and for your loving and generous spirit. A massive thanks also to my proofreading and Copyediting Crew for metiCulous Comments and suggestions. To my darling friends Maia and Cherine (aka the DLF) – thanks for all your love, Comfort and interesting Conversation. In the end, I did regulate! I am also grateful to dear friends back home, Ane, Anne Kari, Anne Karin, Behnaz, Caroline, Christiane, Hildegunn and Sunniva for love and support. Thanks to Helene and Erlend for dinners, adviCe, kindness and road trips. Thanks to Emma, Jonathan, Stine, Silas, Ulrik, Jacob Emil and Jacob for games, laughter and play. My siblings, Ane, Lars Jacob and Jenny, and to my extended family, in partiCular Sigrid and Peter Emil – I am so grateful to you for hosting, visiting and being a joyful refuge from work. To my loving parents Reidun and 7 Odd, I am eternally thankful. You have sustained me with generosity, prayers, love and solace – I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Last, but hardly least, to my dearest Ole Johannes. You have been my Constant sourCe of intellectual and emotional support, always allowing me to disCuss my thoughts and never faltering in your efforts to Cheer me up when I was down. I am grateful for your Compassion, endurance and patience in these last weeks and I can only hope to repay your kindness when your turn comes around. There are many more that should have been thanked, not least the many inspiring feminists I have met at Conferences, in partiCular the ISA Annual Conference in San Diego in 2012.