Patriarchy and Gender Epistemologies in International Relations:
A Critique of the Mainstream from the Global South
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22456/2178-8839.151633Keywords:
Patriarchy, Gender Epistemologies, International RelationsAbstract
This article examines how patriarchy structures both knowledge production and the practices of International Relations, advancing a critique of the discipline’s mainstream from a feminist and decolonial perspective. Based on a theoretical and bibliographical approach, the analysis explores how gendered and racial hierarchies shape the epistemological foundations of the field as well as its institutional reproduction, with particular attention to the Brazilian and Latin American contexts. It argues that the marginalization of these dimensions is not the result of isolated omissions, but rather a manifestation of a broader logic of power that determines who can produce theory and which forms of knowledge are considered legitimate. Drawing on critical approaches from the Global South, the study demonstrates that hegemonic masculinity and the coloniality of knowledge operate as invisible pillars of the discipline, sustaining narratives of universality and scientific neutrality. The article concludes by advocating for the de-patriarchalization of International Relations, promoting epistemological plurality, cognitive justice, and the recognition of situated and plural perspectives within the study of world politics, particularly in the Brazilian academic field.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Vinícius Henrique Mallmann, Thaís Vieira
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Accepted 2026-01-17
Published 2026-02-18
