Hegemonic entrepreneurial masculinities in patriarchal contexts: Exploring men’s entrepreneurship in war-torn territories

This article examines how the war-torn context in Iraq has affected men’s entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial masculinities. Drawing on the entrepreneurship masculinities literature, Connell’s notion of hegemonic masculinity and in-depth interviews with 21 Iraqi men entrepreneurs, this article demonstrates the complex interplay between entrepreneurship, masculinity and patriarchal dynamics in the context of wars and economic instability in Iraq. Study findings show how Iraqi men often turn to entrepreneurship out of necessity to meet patriarchal expectations of them as primary providers for their families. We contribute to the literature on entrepreneurship, men and masculinities by demonstrating how entrepreneurship not only serves as an imperfect economic solution to familial poverty but also enables some men to conform to patriarchal norms of hegemonic masculinity that continue to disadvantage women. Theoretically, the article shows how men’s entrepreneurial hegemonic masculinities in contexts of war can be conceptualised as generational, situated and implicated in corruption and the reproduction of patriarchal relations between men and women.