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Women’s Troubles

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Women’s Troubles sets out to capture the complexities of feminist movement building in the divided society of Northern Ireland, contributing to ongoing analysis of contemporary global feminisms.
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  • 06 May 2025
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How do feminist movements develop and organise in ethno-nationally divided societies? How does this challenge our understandings of contemporary fourth wave feminism? Women’s Troubles sets out to answer these questions using rich empirical data and analysis in an examination of feminist activism after the Northern Irish peace agreement. Utilising feminist frameworks and debates on movement building, policymaking, abortion rights, gender-based violence and the UN women, peace and security agenda, Claire Pierson interrogates the opportunities and challenges in articulating a feminist voice and creating feminist spaces in the conflict transformational politics and society. Capturing the complexities of contemporary feminist movement building in a divided society, Women’s Troubles contributes to ongoing analysis of contemporary global feminisms.
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Price: £85.00
Pages: 168
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Imprint: Manchester University Press
Publication Date: 06 May 2025
ISBN: 9781526161802
Format: Hardcover
BISACs:

HISTORY / Europe / Ireland, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Gender Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Peace, Gender studies: women and girls, Peace studies and conflict resolution

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CHOICE Recommended: Graduate students, faculty and professionals.

'This book deftly intertwines feminist theory, gender politics, and the nuances of rights movements in post-Agreement Northern Ireland. Pierson’s emphasis on exploring hierarchies of power and the myriad ways that both state and non-state actors have supported and challenged feminism in the 25-year period since the 1998 Agreement is impressive. Readers, especially advanced students and researchers, will appreciate how the success narrative of the post-Agreement world is complicated when a gendered rights perspective comes into focus. By investigating not only foundational concepts linked to gender and feminist politics, Pierson (Univ. of Liverpool, UK) also includes important discussions about intersectionality, coalition/network building, and the influence of social media for feminists in Northern Ireland and beyond. The inclusion of multiple interviews from activists, community leaders, scholars, and elected officials showcases the overlap between theory and practice. Readers interested in an in-depth exploration of gender-based violence, the legacies of memory and conflict, and abortion rights activism will particularly appreciate the final two chapters of this work. Impressively researched, this slim volume highlights how Northern Ireland, so often sidelined in larger discussions about global feminism, can teach us about challenging dominant narratives in a post-conflict society.'
--J. M. O'Leary, Mitchell College, CHOICE, March 2026

Claire Pierson is a Senior Lecturer in Politics at the University of Liverpool

Introduction
1 Gender identities and political spaces
2 Feminist movement building and collective identity
3 Gender experts, participation and policy-making
4 Women, peace and security? Gender-based violence, legacies of conflict and masculinities
5 Beyond the state: prefigurative politics and abortion care activism
Conclusion

References
Index