Feminist Foreign Policy: More Than Gender Equality? 🎬

Panelists:

  • SASKIA STACHOWITSCH, scientific director of the Austrian Institute for International Affairs (OIIP), professor of the International Politics at the University of Vienna

  • KELLY ANDERSON, Political Counsellor, Embassy of Canada to Austria

    HANNA MUEHLENHOFF Hanna Muehlenhoff, Assistant Professor of European Studies at the University of Amsterdam

  • JONAS NAKONZ, Senior Project Manager of Policy Kitchen, foraus -The Swiss Think Tank on Foreign Policy

Moderation:

  • MARYLIA HUSHCHA, Research assistant at the IIP

Content:

Last year marked many anniversaries related to women´s roles in international relations, most notably the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security in 2000. However, beyond celebrating anniversaries, how do the international community, including states, international organizations and civil society continue working towards a gender perspective in international politics and greater inclusion of women in decision-making processes? One recent trend has been the adoption of a feminist foreign policy by several states, such as Sweden, Mexico, Canada, and France. But how does this approach play out in practice? How does it affect foreign policy priorities and state behavior in international affairs in a world of growing geopolitical confrontation, power politics and demise of multilateralism? What are the different expectations of feminist foreign policy beyond promoting gender equality, e.g. the alleviation of poverty and the abolishment of militarism, and what has been achieved so far? This panel discussion takes stock of feminist foreign policy as a concept and practice and assesses its impact on various relations of power in international politics. It further explores the different meanings of feminism in the global arena in the context of postcolonial, queer, and intersectional critique of global governance approaches to gender equality.