Gender and International Relations in North Africa

Gender and International Relations in North Africa: Decentring EU Policies in Tunisia offers a critical rethinking of international gender agendas by placing Tunisian perspectives at the centre of analysis.

Drawing on a rich, interdisciplinary, theoretical account and extensive empirical research, the book examines European Union gender policies in Tunisia from the 1995 Association Agreement through the 2010-2011 revolution and the recent authoritarian resurgence. Grounded in the “decentring” approach in International Relations and inspired by Gayatri Spivak’s distinction between “giving voice” and “speaking for,” it interrogates how far EU policies genuinely engage with, or marginalise, the diverse agencies of Tunisian women. Situating EU initiatives within broader United Nations frameworks, the study highlights the reciprocal circulation of gender discourses and practices across international and regional levels. Methodologically informed by the “Grounded Theory,” it adopts a self-reflexive approach, addressing key issues such as positionality, freedom, safety, and care in research, while challenging Eurocentric assumptions about knowledge production and policy design.

This book will appeal to scholars and students of Gender and International Relations, Middle East and North Africa, and European foreign policy, as well as practitioners interested in feminist approaches to international governance and Euro-Mediterranean relations.

Clara della Valle is an Adjunct Professor of International Relations at the University of Bologna, where she was a Research Fellow (2021-2025). She holds a PhD in Politics, Human Rights, and Sustainability from the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa (2019), where she contributed to the project Enhancing Women’s Participation in Peace and Security (2020). She serves on the Steering Committee of the Standing Group on International Relations of the Italian Political Science Association and as an Associate Editor of Interdisciplinary Political Studies.