This volume investigates how the concept of maternality is constructed, utilized, and contested within the frameworks of global politics and international relations. The editors, Lucy B. Hall, Anna L. Weissman, and Laura J. Shepherd, assemble a collection of scholarly contributions that examine the intersection of motherhood and statecraft. By analyzing diverse geopolitical contexts, the authors argue that maternality is not merely a private domestic experience but a significant political category that shapes policy, security, and social hierarchies.

Scholars in the field of gender and international relations identify this work as a significant contribution to the critical study of political bodies. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for researchers and students of political theory.