She studies civil-military relations in the United States, processes of social change, and the status of women.
She has published books on the effectiveness of nonviolent resistance, the results of mandated orders to admit women to the United States Air Force Academy, and the functioning of the U.S. Army War College.
[1] Stiehm attended the University of Wisconsin, where she earned a BA degree in East Asian Studies.
[2] Stiehm has served as the provost and academic vice president of Florida International University.
The book is motivated by the apparent contradiction that peacemaking has traditionally been portrayed as a feminine activity, and yet by that point only 12 women had won the Nobel Peace Prize in more than 100 years.