The Duck of Minerva

Megan MacKenzie

Megan MacKenzie is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney in Australia. Her main research interests include feminist international relations, gender and the military, the combat exclusion for women, the aftermaths of war and post-conflict resolution, and transitional justice. Her book Beyond the Band of Brothers: the US Military and the Myth that Women Can't Fight comes out with Cambridge University Press in July 2015. https://www.cambridge.org/ee/academic/subjects/politics-international-relations/international-relations-and-international-organisations/beyond-band-brothers-us-military-and-myth-women-cant-fight?format=PB

Recent Posts

10 Steps to Finishing a PhD Thesis (or book) in 6 Months

by Megan MacKenzie | 12 December, 2012 |

Most academics will admit to themselves and students that the majority of dissertations and books are written in a 6 month block of time (the remainder of the post focuses on a PhD process, but it can be easily applied to book writing). I'm talking here about the WRITING process- not the research, figuring out the question, organizing the chapters etc (no wizard can do all that in 6 months- at least not this wizard). But once you've done your (field) research, reading, thinking through the chapters, taking notes etc. it really should only take you 6 months to finish the thesis. For PhD...

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James Bond, Ambiguously Gay Villains and Masculinity

by Megan MacKenzie | 23 November, 2012 |

The James Bond movies aren't the first place most would look to learn about masculinity; it's an action movie, the special effects are always amazing, and most of us just leave the gender analysis at home...BUT just humor me for one scene. In my view the best part of an otherwise mediocre movie (sorry super-Bond fans!) is when Bond is confronted by the ultimate villain, Silver (played spectacularly by Javier Bardem). Silver is a unique antihero, he meditates, he often speaks in a high pitch voice, he giggles, in many ways he is- well- effeminate. In his intro scene he snuggles up to a...

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Wombs and Periods: the real threat to national security

by Megan MacKenzie | 1 November, 2012 |

If you ever thought that emotion, mythology, and the uterus didn’t matter in foreign policy, reading debates about women in the military should change your mind. I expected some debate to ensue when Foreign Affairs agreed to publish an essay called Let Women Fight in their November/December issue (cough shamelessselfpromotion cough), but I was blown away by the comments posted on a preview of the article in the Daily Beast last week. Sure, many responses to op eds are easily brushed off as rants or individuals blowing off steam, but it is worth looking at a few themes within the responses to...

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War Rape is Not Declining

by Megan MacKenzie | 17 October, 2012 |

The Human Security Report Project (HSR) recently released their 2012 Report. The first chapter on wartime sexual violence makes sweeping conclusions and provocative claims about the nature and rates of sexual violence. The overarching message, and certainly the one picked up by the media is that wartime sexual violence is on the decline. Before taking a closer look at the 5 Myths about sexual violence that HSR seeks to dispel, it is important to put this report in a bit of context. In case you aren't familiar with HSR, they have made a name out of making counter-factual hypotheses and...

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Truth and Reconciliation Commissions Don’t Achieve Truth or Reconciliation: Discuss

by Megan MacKenzie | 8 September, 2012 |

In a recent article by Michal Ben-Josef Hirsch, Mohamed Sesay and myself, we explore broad-based claimed that transitional justice mechanisms are a necessary ingredient in successful peace processes. More specifically, we question the increasingly universal and rarely challenged assumption that truth and reconciliation commissions (TRCs) establish the truth and reconciliation necessary for lasting peace (the TRCs= truth and reconciliation formula). The truth is that we know very little about what truth and reconciliation commissions actually accomplish. What we do know is that they are the...

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Is Feminism Back in Vogue?

by Megan MacKenzie | 3 August, 2012 |

SURVEY: Ladies: Do you like having the option of wearing pants, do you enjoy taking time off after giving birth and do you like that people don't freak out if you have to breast feed in public, is voting something you're glad you can do- what about getting a university education, short hair, tampons, female doctors, bras that don't torture, or working in fields like engineering? Gentlemen: Is it nice to know that the women you may date will likely have an education, opinions, and that if you choose to get married you're not going to be expected to be the sole family earner? Do you like not...

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The Sexual Scandal Factor in Military Policy Making

by Megan MacKenzie | 17 July, 2012 |

Do scandals- particularly the kind that receive international attention- inspire progressive gender policies? While there is no conclusive research on this question, there are indicators that sexual violence scandals may be as important as public opinion or operational changes in influencing policy change in the military (perhaps more so).My prediction- you can quote me on this- is that the current onslaught of sexual violence scandals in the US military will provide the tipping point needed to remove the combat exclusion. Do I think this is the answer to the problem of one in three female...

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IR Course Uncovers the Romantic Comedy Foruma

by Megan MacKenzie | 25 June, 2012 |

My students and I have unlocked the key to writing a blockbuster romantic comedy script. When lecturing on masculinities in my Gender and Human Rights course I gave students the following challenge: think of an stereotypical, ideal-type character that symbolizes one form of hegemonic masculinity. Remembering that hegemonic masculinities are fluid ideal types that vary across history and context,  students came up with answers like "the macho rugby player," "the workaholic CEO," "the playboy" and "the quiet, rugged cowboy." After getting them to list the qualities that define these masculine...

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Let’s (Keep) Talking About Sex

by Megan MacKenzie | 19 June, 2012 |

Foreign Policy just published its latest issue online. The letters section includes a response that expands on my earlier blog post calling the recent "Sex" issue a Teen Magazine. For those interested in reading further, my letter points FP editors to a wider range of scholarship and contributors they might have considered and challenges them to reconsider gender as only a 'special issue:'"Women are half the population (are we still having this discussion?), and norms associated with gender and identity affect everyone. So forget the special issues. Instead, start publishing more articles...

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If Gays Can Fight, Shouldn’t Women?

by Megan MacKenzie | 17 May, 2012 |

Now that Don't Ask Don't Tell (DADT) has been removed, does this mean that women are next on the equality/integration agenda?The answer to this question seemed to be yes, when this week when the Pentagon announced the removal of restrictions for some 14,000 military jobs that were previously closed to women within the forces due to their proximity to combat. Understandably, there has been a great deal of discussion as to how the removal of DADT could pave the way for the removal of the combat exclusion for women. But are these comparisons between DADT and the combat exclusion for women...

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