Motives for Women’s Participation in Military Conflicts: The Ukrainian Case

Miglė Lapėnaitė

doi:10.15388/polit.2021.103.3

Abstract

This article analyzes the motives for direct (in military actions) and non-direct (in administrative or military support actions) participation of Ukrainian women in the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian military conflict that began in 2014. It aims to reveal the motives that have led pro-Ukrainian women to take part in defending their country by allowing the participants of the study to speak for themselves. The article draws on twenty (20) e-interviews with women who were involved in the war in Ukraine and five (5) semi-structured interviews with people who due to their professional activities were able to observe the conflict from the inside (journalists, NGO workers, and war photographers), as well as secondary sources available. Content analysis of the interview data was implemented. The article identifies four main motives for participation in war: patriotism, grievances, personal loss and suffering, and women’s empowerment. This information corresponds with similar studies conducted elsewhere in the region.

Highlights

Some studies on women’s participation in war argue that war is men’s business[1], and that women are victims of war and there is no place for them in it
The article draws on twenty (20) e-interviews with women who were involved in the war in Ukraine and five (5) semi-structured interviews with people who due to their professional activities were able to observe the conflict from the inside, as well as secondary sources available
Twenty (20) e-interviews with women fighting on the pro-Ukrainian side revealed that patriotism and a desire to protect one’s country from a hostile foreign force that questions the very existence of the state was the main predominant motive

Summary

Introduction

Some studies on women’s participation in war argue that war is men’s business[1], and that women are victims of war and there is no place for them in it. By empowering women’s own voices, this article explores the motivations of women who have been fighting on the pro-Ukrainian side in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict that began in 2014, participating in the defense of the state from hostile external forces. It aims to reveal the personal motivations of women and present a generalized analysis combining different voices into thematic blocs. Wars and their characteristics have been changing and their number has been increasing[4].

Objectives

Methods

Conclusion