“This study examines the influence of gender constructs on the international regime protecting war-affected civilians. Although international law nominally protects all civilians, Carpenter argues that belligerents, human rights advocates and humanitarian players interpret civilian immunity so as to leave adult civilian men and older boys at grave risk in conflict zones. This ground-breaking study demonstrates how gender assumptions shape international politics, and develops a framework for incorporating gender into the often gender-blind scholarship on international norms.” 

Ashgate Publishing, 217 pages

 Winner of the 2001 Jane Grant Dissertation Fellowship, R. Charli Carpenter received funding from the Center for the Study of Women in Society to pursue the research on which this book is based.