Book Review: The Gender Order of Neoliberalism, by SmithaRadhakrishnan and Cinzia D.Solari. Polity Press, Cambridge. 2023. 224 pp. $22.00 (E‐Book). <scp>ISBN</scp>: 978‐1‐509‐54491‐2

The Gender Order of Neoliberalism, by Smitha Radhakrishnan and Cinzia D. Solari, is a considerable effort and ambitious work to understand the gender mechanism in the neoliberal order. The book, particularly, appeals to an audience interested in the critical examination of women's condition in the contemporary world. It starts with a fundamental question: “Why did women and men experiencing unfair conditions around mothering, work, and identity in places as different as India, Ukraine, and the United States accept and even embrace these conditions?” (p. 3). To answer the question, the authors try to articulate the experiences of men and women in three different regions with three different ideological drifts: the United States (Capitalist push), Russia (Socialism pull), and South and Southeast Asia (SSEA – Postcolonial states) (p. 10). Regardless of the three regions, the book poses questions to our understanding of neoliberalism, gender as a neoliberal subject, and the relation of the market with the individual. The authors attempt to cover the crisis of masculinity and the reaction of neoliberal regimes to it. Throughout the six chapters, the book addresses the situation of gender in a multicentric world and the economic transformation of femininity via different empirical examples. The book analyses the archaeological density of the Cold War as a prehistoric event in the development of neoliberalism, together with genealogical blocks related to disputes among competitive societies and investigations into the quality of women's lives (p. 21). The authors elucidate the political dynamics between Russia's and the USA's policies on women and the philosophical foundations of the neoliberal framework (p. 30). It examines neoliberalism and its influence on agency through the structural mechanisms of the market. In addition, every order has repercussions and beauties, as the liberal and archaic orders once had. In effect, neoliberalism has its stances and basis, but the question is about the impact on individuals and their autonomy. The book consists of two primary arguments, which Radhakrishnan and Solari explore throughout the book with different empirical and historical explanations. The first argument concerns the mistreatment of neoliberalism toward gender, particularly women, and the economic transformation of femininity. The second argument concerns how nation-states deal with gender under a neoliberal order. The initial argument encompasses the three chapters in which authors examine the notion of neoliberalism and its market-oriented policies. Neoliberalism, by the authors' definition, emerged from the interaction of competitive societies. It brings things and relations into a market where it drives the mechanism of life on the basic principle of a liberal economy: “human wants are unlimited, but resources are limited.” In doing so, neoliberalism brought women into the market and raised the slogan of “empowerment” (p. 41). The book skeptically articulates that the curtains of empowerment reside in the concept of economy, whereas it leaves other fundamental pillars of life, for example, political and social participation (p. 42). The authors argue that neoliberalism sees its benefit and doesn't care about the political and social autonomy of women. Moreover, neoliberalism strengthens core areas like education to pave the way for women to enter the market, and watchdogs (like the World Bank and the United Nations) help the neoliberal order in doing so (p. 51–53). Neoliberalism invested in “empowered women” through education and developmental activities (p. 58). The problem with neoliberal development is that it views women as a subject to the economy and production value. In addition, neoliberalism concentrates on the individual level and empowerment, but feminist movements in history were about the collective effort to overcome the restraints and patriarchal values. In the past, collective efforts in the case against the “vindication of women's rights,” the right to vote, free movement, and control over the body were successful. Even when feminism turned down different paths, for example, black feminism and the protection of women from third-world countries, it was a coherent and collective effort (p. 29, p. 156). On the other hand, neoliberalism posits premises for individual rights with the limitation of economy and market. For the market-driven policies, authors used the term “economic transformation of femininity,” which means the entrepreneurship venture of women in the market sphere and their participation in global labor. The second argument goes into the depth of nation-state policies. Radhakrishnan and Solari argue that there are two structuring conditions of neoliberalism for states. The conditions are that the state protects the elite's interest and reinforces the national borders for trade (p. 69, p. 75, & p. 118). Regarding trade, national borders are open for cheap labor (domestic workers) and marriage migrations, as in the case of the Philippines, but national borders are restricted to open migration. It leads to benefitting the market system of neoliberalism while causing the marginalization and exploitation of women and different groups. Structural inequalities are what neoliberalism produces. On the other hand, neoliberalism gave birth to the crisis of masculinity, which is because the neoliberal cover story substantially decreased the prominence of saving women (p. 121). Neoliberalism's policies tend to create exhausted women (from serving the economic value) and irrelevant men (from feeling no stronger) (p. 123). Consequently, manly protectors emerged in different parts of the world, like Trump in the United States, Putin in Russia, and Modi in India (p. 127). The politics of this leader are based on different political illusions, which include misogyny, hyper-national discourse, and homophobia. A neoliberal cover story produces a heteronormative structure and a conservative response to modern social change. It somehow reverses and reinforces patriarchy. Overall, the Neoliberal cover story is the economic transformation of femininity, and its flip side is the manly protector (p. 160). The book is essential for several reasons, including the fact that the collective efforts for women have become a discourse of past and neoliberal order that reinforces individual autonomy to produce structural inequalities and exploitation. It is the sole rationale for Byung-Chul Han's assertion that revolution is impracticable inside the neoliberal framework. The other reason encompasses the author's ability to comprehend the subject of the crisis of masculinity under neoliberalism. Though one can question the historical development of neoliberalism – presented in the book – as a Foucault reader may vary on the cause and inception of the neoliberal order. Furthermore, the book fails to address non-binary and LGBTQ+ individuals, which is crucial when examining questions regarding gender order in a multicentric world. Another criticism pertains to the sample size; specifically, when authors discuss South and Southeast Asia, the inclusion of Pakistan and Bangladesh could enhance the strength and effect of their argument. The book provides a compelling study of neoliberalism's approach to gender and the impact of market-driven policies on collective efforts for women's rights. Yet, it has certain limitations regarding its scope and sample size.