ABSTRACT
Can international law be an ally for feminists? In the last 20 years, within their different positioning and standpoints, feminist scholars and activists have provided different answers to this question weighing what is gained and what is lost in engaging with international law and the (im)possibility of subverting its pre-existing foundational biases. This chapter provides an overview of some of the ways in which feminists have thought about international law drawing attention to the limitations connected to the legal form as a carrier of feminist ideas. After introducing international law, the chapter touches on key feminist debates on the UN Security Council Women, Peace and Security agenda, the law of collective security, international humanitarian law, international criminal law and international human rights law. In the context of calls for renewed attention to feminist methods in international law, in this chapter, I argue for the importance of re-centring an examination of the legal form as a vehicle for feminist change.
