Hybrid regimes‚ from Bolsonaro’s Brazil to Putin’s Russia, are often characterised by militarised masculinity, relying on symbols and performances of physical toughness, aggression, violence, and emotional control. It is well documented that militarised masculinities structure hegemonic power to marginalise alternative gender identities, to produce the ruler as all-powerful, and to shape political subjectivities. But why are military masculinities so often found in conjunction with today’s hybrid regimes in particular? Based on secondary literature, as well as qualitative fieldwork in contemporary Uganda, this presentation seeks to offer the above question. In doing so, it offers two contributions: first, it shows how military masculinity works as a conduit to project state power in hybrid regimes; second, it explores the effects of this conjunction — namely, the production of hybrid political subjectivities.

About the author

Rebecca Tapscott is an Ambizione Research Fellow at the Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy at the Graduate Institute and a Visiting Fellow at the Firoz Lalji Centre for Africa at the London School of Economics. Her research interests include gender — particularly masculinities — and the state; political violence and authoritarianism; and ethical regulation of conflict research, as it pertains to knowledge production and global governance. She is completing a book on arbitrary governance and hybrid regimes based on a study of the informal security sector in Uganda (under contract with Oxford University Press). Her Ambizione project examines the transnational diffusion of ethics regulations and the political consequences for conflict studies. Rebecca holds a PhD from the Fletcher School at Tufts University. She is the recipient of the Alfred Rubin Prize from the Fletcher School and the International Studies Association’s Carl Beck award.

Within the Gender Seminar Series

The purpose of this seminar is to offer a platform of exchange for students, doctoral students in particular, whose research includes a gender perspective. During this monthly series, students will have the opportunity to discuss their work, meet peers from different disciplines at the Graduate Institute, as well as interact with guest speakers and faculty members.