ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of men and (in)security in global politics before considering complexity in gender identity alongside feminist-influenced explanations for insecurity. It considers a binary marked by forms of 'bestial' masculinity, contrasting a beheading video at one end of the spectrum with an account of a rational and heroic former soldier who travels to fight the 'extremists'. Radicalization has been explained by attempts to 'restore honour' through the use of violence as a key element of a wider narrative of compensatory masculinity. In moving beyond the oppositional framing of these groups as 'uncivilized' and 'civilized', the chapter argues that, when viewed through the lens of masculinity, there is a good degree of commonality in gendered identity and practice across contexts. The particular commonality on which it focuses is the common perception that militarized violence is effective and desirable. The chapter concludes by considering the nexus linking masculinity, insecurity and global politics theoretically.
