Do they, and how much do they, and how do they contribute to conflicts between states or civil wars within states?

There are many examples of conflicts that at least have some relation to gender relations, as well as perception of gender relation

  • Many politicians justified the invasion of Afghanistan by appealing to oppression of women under Taliban.
  • Equally, some of the colonial wars were partially a result of the custom of kicking younger sons out of the house, which again was a product of one type of gender relations in some cultures.
  • Many wars in Africa may be driven by polygamy in many African societies (not just Muslim ones, where men are limited to 4 wives, but in non-Muslim as well, where men can have as many wives as they can get) where both the attainment of wealth by the rich men, who need money in order to support their many wives, and the impoverishment and sexual frustration by poor men, who cannot get any wives, can start conflicts that can escalate uncontrollably.
  • One source of conflict within Western societies, between native populations and immigrants (especially from countries perceived as patriarchal), is the perception and mistrust of each other's gender relations, whether as too strict, too rapey, too promiscuous, too misogynist, too feminist etc

So, there are plenty of examples of the way gender relations contribute to various conflicts. But could it perhaps even be said that they are actually their primary cause and driving force?