War, violence and the existential female warrior - a comparative historical analysis of Sisters in Arms

Core question: Is feminised warfare necessarily less violent?

Topic statement: The study of war has long been dominated by the male experience, despite a history of women's participation on the front-line. This thesis will offer an alternative to the male-dominated study of security, defence and political conflict by shedding light on the female experience of war - moving away from the feminist literature on women as solely the victims of war to concentrate on the role of women as agential actors, actively choosing to participate in armed conflict. This is a significant area of study because feminist literature commonly assumes women to be inherently less violent than men, leading to the expectation that a more feminised politics would necessarily equate to a more peaceful politics. With more and more front-line positions in the military being opened up to women, and the spectacle of ISIS-fighting female Peshmerga forces grabbing headlines globally, this research will provide a timely analysis of the long-assumed dichotomy between feminine and masculine predispositions to war.