Pipes, profits and peace: toward a feminist political economy of gas during war

Abstract

Neoliberal reforms instituted at the behest of International Financial Institutions (IFIs) during conflict are both unchallenged and commonplace. In Ukraine, the IFIs have prescribed radical economic restructuring amid the war in Donbas. One of the most notable reform programs has been the liberalization of the gas market. This article offers a critical, global feminist political economy framework that seeks to understand the gendered impact of radical energy liberalization on Ukrainians during the war in Donbas. The aim of this article is to highlight the fundamentally gendered aspects of such economic restructuring and demonstrate how it has catalyzed further insecurity, inequality, and instability during war. The article argues that more critical, feminist political economy research is needed to understand and critique both economic reforms during war and orthodox energy policy.

Keywords:

• Energy
• war
• gender
• capitalism
• gas
• Ukraine

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their careful comments on the manuscript, which catalyzed substantive changes. The author would also like to thank Aisha Ismail for her careful review of multiple drafts of the paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Interview in Kyiv, 9 October 2019.

2 Vinnytsia, 15 October 2018.

3 Kyiv, 1 November 2018.

4 Kharkiv, 29 October 2018.

5 Kyiv, 30 October 2018.

6 Zaporizhzhia, 24 October 2018.

7 Zaporizhzhia, 24 October 2018.

8 Zaporizhzhia, 24 October 2018.

9 Kyiv, 8 October 2018.

10 Zaporizhzhia, 24 October 2018.

11 Zhytomyr, 11 October 2018.

12 Kyiv, 8 October 2018.

13 Kyiv, 9 October 2018.

14 Kyiv, 1 November 2018.

15 Zaporizhzhia, 24 October 2018.

16 Kyiv, 8 October 2018.

17 Zaporizhzhia, 22 October 2018.

18 Vinnytsia, 17 October 2018.

19 Kyiv, 8 October 2018.

20 Vinnytsia, 17 October 2018.

21 Kyiv, 8 October 2018.

22 Zaproizhzhia, 24 October 2018.

23 Kyiv, 9 October 2018.

24 Kharkiv, 29 October 2018.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Australia, under the project Towards Inclusive Peace: Mapping Gender Provisions of Peace Agreements.

Notes on contributors

Elliot Dolan-Evans

Elliot Dolan-Evans is an Assistant Lecturer in Anatomy and a Fellow at the Gender, Peace and Security Centre, Monash University. Elliot has recently completed his PhD in political economy, and his research focuses on the political economy of economic restructuring during conflict, the work of the International Financial Institutions, and questions of capitalism and health.