Women and the Environment; New Actors in the Transformation of the Global Order

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Fatemeh Zolfagharian

PhD in Political Science, Research Fellow, TU Dortmund University, Dortmund, Germany.

10.22067/ips.2026.97520.1021

Abstract

Centuries of male-centered dominance in political thought and International Relations have systematically excluded both women and nature from the sphere of political agency. Yet contemporary developments suggest that women and the environment are increasingly becoming consequential forces in the redefinition of the global order. Ecofeminism, one of the central strands of third-wave feminist theory, foregrounds the structural interconnectedness between the subordination of women and the domination of nature, offering a critical framework through which these transformations can be understood. This article examines how ecofeminism accounts for the emergence of women and the environment as actors in the reshaping of the global order, and what implications this perspective carries for the field of International Relations. Drawing on a qualitative–normative methodology and the approach of political philosophy, the study critically engages with ecofeminist concepts, propositions, and theoretical foundations in relation to international relations scholarship. The findings suggest that by challenging the epistemological premises of modernity and prevailing development discourses, ecofeminism not only broadens the conventional understanding of "actor" in International Relations but also invites a fundamental rethinking of core concepts such as power, security, and sustainable development. Within this framework, women and the environment emerge as norm-generating forces that play an increasingly significant role in shaping a transforming global order. The article concludes by briefly reflecting on the relevance of ecofeminist debates to the Iranian context, with particular attention to the intersections of gender, environmental crisis, and political participation in contemporary Iran.

Keywords

Environment

Women

Global Order

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