01/08/2024
More than a dozen countries worldwide have adopted a feminist foreign policy to date, although some of them, such as Sweden, later renounced it. In an insightful and lively panel discussion, which took place at the College on 25 June 2024 in cooperation with the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF, University of Duisburg-Essen), experts from government and academia exchanged views and elucidated various facets of feminist foreign and development policies. The recent developments in Germany, in contrast to other countries such as Canada, were at the centre of the discussion.
There is no agreed definition of a feminist foreign policy, which makes the concept open to interpretation, as Karoline Färber from King’s College London pointed out. The definitions formulated in state policies often do not promote much innovation, but rather refer to strengthening gender equality and measures already taken in that regard. Angela Heucher (German Institute for Development Evaluation, DEval) stressed that the question of coherence between policies in different fields is essential, as they are strongly intertwined in practice and should not be conflicting in their goals (for instance, contradictory policies in trade and development cooperation). In Germany, foreign policy and development policy seem to be well aligned.
Theresa Herbold from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) related that a feminist development policy can have substantial effects on food and nutrition security since women are key actors in the value chain within agriculture. While they are more often affected by malnutrition, they are underrepresented in decision-making and there is a significant gender pay gap in the agricultural sector globally. Empowering women holds great potential to eliminate hunger and poverty and combat climate change, and a feminist development policy is an important tool to address the gender gap.
Stephen Brown, professor of political studies from the University of Ottawa, stated that, for feminism to be feminism, it has to be transformational, which implies doing things differently, including diplomacy. He argued that gender equality is not just about “empowering women” but also considering gender relations, including the role of men and also the impact of women’s empowerment on men. Asked about how the German experience compares to Canada’s, he explained that Canada’s feminist foreign policy document still has not been released, despite being promised for over four years. Canada, however, has published a feminist international assistance policy, which, while it has made a difference in sponsoring women’s groups and LGBTQI+ initiatives, does not do much to address the root causes of gender inequality. Canada’s “feminist defence policy”, invoked by the government but never defined, seems to refer mainly to increasing the proportion of women in the armed forces and has not changed the fact that there is still little accountability for sexual harassment and assault in the Canadian military.
“I have known Tobias for quite a long time and have worked with him and INEF before, including during a fellowship at the University of Duisburg-Essen a decade ago. Because I don’t know the German context very well, their involvement in this event was essential for identifying potential panellists. I also counted on them for knowing what would work (or not) in the local context. It was a pleasure to have the opportunity to collaborate with them again.”
“I originally thought about organising a public event on LGBTQI+ issues, but was aware that feminist foreign and development policies would hold broader appeal. Feminist policies should, by their very nature, be inclusive of gender and sexual diversity, so the panel did address the issue of LGBTQI+ inclusion around the world, which is what my current research focuses on.”
From her perspective as an evaluator, Angela Heucher related how gender mainstreaming has a positive impact when its steps are well designed, but it holds much greater potential for addressing root causes. She pointed out that feminist principles must be balanced with the situation in partner countries as they may also have adverse effects and can sometimes even be harmful for participants in projects if they are considered too subversive (e.g., when it comes to questions of reproductive rights).
Another challenge, missing data for measuring the effects, was pointed out by Karoline Färber. For Germany, a recent study showed an increase in gender equality work, but that overall measures were incomplete and inconsistent. She related criticism that many Federal Foreign Office guidelines are inward-looking, which limits credibility and impedes transformative impact. She furthermore elucidated what is being criticised about German feminist foreign policy: that it is too liberal, its focus being individual and not structural and allegedly on white women, while representatives from the Global South are not actively included.
Stephen Brown related how in Canada, the impact of feminist policies was also more visible internally: there are now more female deputy ministers and soldiers, and half of Canadian Cabinet ministers and ambassadors are women. However, the concrete impact of having more women in combat and leadership roles remains to be seen, especially when the institutional structures remain the same.
As a decisive factor for whether feminist foreign policies have a future, Stephen Brown wondered if diplomatic structures can do diplomacy differently. He noted that the trend to adopt feminist policies seems to be reversing, and some countries are starting to rescind their feminist foreign policies, as Sweden did in 2022 after the election of a new government. He assumes that in Canada, similar developments can be expected, as the concept of FFP is closely associated with the current Liberal government.
Karoline Färber added that the policies in Germany are only on the level of single ministries, and not government policies. Similar to Canada, the policies are linked to political parties, in this case the Social Democrats and the Greens, so that they could easily be abolished after a change in government.
Angela Heucher is a senior evaluator and team leader at the German Institute for Development Evaluation (DEval). At DEval, she has contributed to evaluations on gender equality in post-conflict contexts, on human rights in private sector and financial system development and on sustainable supply chains in the textile sector. Currently, she is leading an evaluation on multilateral development cooperation. Her background is in political and social science, and she holds a PhD from the University of Potsdam.
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DEval
Karoline Faerber is a PhD researcher at the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. Her research interests include feminist foreign policy; diplomacy and gender, race, and class; diplomatic institutions and institutional change; and everyday knowledge production in / on foreign policy. Karoline’s current research project interrogates the meaning and everyday knowledge production of feminisms and feminist foreign policy in the German context. For more information on the project and a list of publications, please see her profile:
Stephen Brown is a professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa (Canada), where he is also affiliated with the School of International Development and Global Studies. His research focuses mainly on the intersection of domestic and international politics. He is now primarily carrying out research on international LGBTQI+ rights. His latest project is on how people in some African countries, such as Botswana, Mauritius, and Kenya, use domestic courts to try to force their governments to decriminalise same-sex relations. He is currently a Senior Fellow at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities.
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eventfotograf.in
Theresa Herbold is senior policy officer at the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Working in the unit Food and Nutrition Security, Fisheries, she is in charge of food and nutrition security, rural youth employment and gender equality in agri-food systems. Previously, she was fellow of the postgraduate programme at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS) and part of a research programme investigating the role of the financial market in a green and just transition in South Africa. She holds Master's degrees in Agricultural Economics and Crop Sciences from the University of Hohenheim.
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BMZ
Patricia Rinck is a researcher at the Chair of International Relations and Development Policy at the University of Duisburg-Essen. Her research focuses on feminist perspectives on peacebuilding, statebuilding and development policy. She holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Duisburg-Essen and is an Associate Editor of the Journal of Intervention and Statebuilding.
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UDE
Tobias Debiel is Professor of International Relations and Development Policy at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and Deputy Director of the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF). His research interests are: state fragility and violent conflict; post-conflict peacebuilding; global governance and international intervention; development policy in war-torn societies; sanctions and geopolitics.
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Bettina Engel-Albustin
Prof. Stephen Brown
University of Ottawa (Canada) | Political Science
Stephen Brown is a professor at the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, where he is also affiliated with the School of International Development and Global Studies. His research focuses mainly on the intersection of domestic and international politics. He has published on democratisation, political violence, peacebuilding and transitional justice/rule of law in Angola, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Rwanda. He has conducted research on foreign aid in Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Mongolia, and Peru, as well as on global COVID-19 vaccine inequities. He is now primarily carrying out research on international LGBTQI+ rights. He is completing a research project on international actors’ efforts to defend the rights of sexual and gender minorities in the Global South. His latest project is on how people in some African countries, such as Botswana, Mauritius, and Kenya, use domestic courts to try to force their governments to decriminalise homosexuality. He has been a visiting scholar at universities and research institutes in Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, South Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Website
Prof. Dennis Dijkzeul
Ruhr University Bochum, Institute for International Law of Peace and Armed Conflict (IFHV) | Conflict and Organisation Research
E-mail: dennis.dijkzeul@rub.de
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© Bettina Engel-Albustin
Prof. Tobias Debiel
University of Duisburg-Essen | Institute for Development and Peace (INEF), Deputy Director
E-mail: tobias.debiel@uni-due.de
Tobias Debiel is Professor of International Relations and Development Policy at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) and Deputy Director of the Institute for Development and Peace (INEF). His research interests are: state fragility and violent conflict; post-conflict peacebuilding; global governance and international intervention; development policy in war-torn societies; sanctions and geopolitics.
Selected Publications:
Website