This paper examines the puzzle of why it took so long for women to be permitted to participate in active combat. I argue that a powerful and complex norm against female combat prevented women combatants even after their successful use in World War II. This extremely robust norm allows an examination of how norms resist change. 

Biography

Sarah Percy is Associate Professor of interns relations at the University of Queensland. She has published widely on unconventional combatants, including pirates, mercenaries and private security companies.