This special issue of Journal of Gender Studies focuses on the role of women in leadership positions in militias and defense groups, paying special attention on Africa and the Middle East to measure the empirical variation between different terrains of inquiry to be analysed through two different theorical frameworks: the Gendered Theory of Rebellion and the Donminant/Power Theory. The rationale for the special issue is the attempt to analyse and evaluate the experience of women in leadership positions, their motivations for violence and the degree to which their decision-making and influence in the perpetration of violence impacts their definition of feminity.

Paper proposals (max. 500 words) should be submitted to both editors at : muriel.gomez-perez@hst.ulaval.ca and francesco.cavatorta@pol.ulaval.ca before 2024, November 15th.