The Security of Women and the Security of States: The Case of the Bare Branches of China and India
Professor Valerie Hudson - Department of Political Science, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah

Is there any linkage between the security of women in a state, and the state’s resulting domestic and international security? One way to approach this issue is to seek out a situation where the security of women is arguably very low, and trace the relationship to levels of security at more macro levels. In India and China, the birth sex ratios have shot up almost logarithmically over the past three decades, compared to the decades previous. China now officially acknowledges a birth sex ratio of 121; India admits to approximately 114. Does the increased culling of female infants from the birth population have any ramifications for the security of these countries, and the security of their region? Professor Valerie M. Hudson of Brigham Young University will argue that it does.