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The Future of Foreign Policy Is Feminist
Kristina Lunz (Author), Nicola Barfoot (Translated by)
9781509557837, Polity Press
Hardback, published 22 September 2023
356 pages
23.1 x 16 x 3.8 cm, 0.748 kg
‘A bold vision for a sustainable future.’
Margot Wallström, former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden
‘Kristina Lunz shows what a future foreign policy that focuses on human rights and human security could look like. A courageous vision that is well worth reading!’
Düzen Tekkal, writer, filmmaker and human rights activist
‘Kristina Lunz has produced a persuasive critique of the dominant paradigm of international relations. More importantly, she offers a compelling alternative vision “fit to purpose” for the twenty-first century, based on feminist principles and values, including respect for all life, justice, empathy and humility.’
Stephen Heintz, President & CEO, Rockefeller Brothers Fund
‘Kristina Lunz highlights the urgent need for feminist approaches in foreign policy to address the root causes of conflict and build sustainable peace.’
Oleksandra Matviichuk, Ukrainian Human Rights Lawyer and Nobel Peace Laureate 2022
‘After reading this book you will look at the world differently.’
Maja Göpel, economist and co-founder of Scientists for Future
As old white men continue to dominate the national and international stages, the needs of women and minorities are constantly ignored. International politics are shaped by a ruthless competition for advantage, and the world is full of conflicts, crises and wars. Things have to change. Activist and political scientist Kristina Lunz is on a mission to do just that. In her work from New York to Bogotá, from Germany to Myanmar, she became aware of a stubborn unwillingness to think past the status quo and to embrace new, innovative voices from marginalized groups. She also saw that the tradition of feminist activism combined brilliantly with diplomacy: both require grim tenacity, boundless creativity and a solutions-oriented approach. In her attempt to reconfigure the field of foreign policy, she aims to set in motion a paradigm shift, replacing grandiose displays of military might with feminism, solidarity and climate justice. A feminist foreign policy requires the promotion of equal rights in the handling of foreign affairs and security matters worldwide, with a particular focus on marginalized and politically underrepresented groups. Ultimately, this is nothing less than an inclusive, visionary policy for the twenty-first century, one where security and prosperity, health and climate justice are possible – in other words: where peace is possible for everyone, everywhere.
Preface to the 2023 edition
1. Prologue: The personal is political
My feminist awakening
…and where it led
Margot Wallström: ‘Activism and diplomacy, that is, courage and patience, complement each other’
2. Why foreign policy must become feminist
The beginnings of feminist foreign policy
Feminism for everybody
Less patriarchy, more security
Feminist security beyond the nation state
Conclusion: Why (feminist) foreign policy concerns us all
Toni Haastrup: ‘Home was never a place for me’
3. Diplomacy: It’s a man’s world
A rocky road
Female diplomacy in Germany
Making women visible
Oppression and violence – women’s lives past and present
Conclusion: diverse and efficient
Valerie Hudson: ‘What a long, strange trip it’s been’
4. Old white men in theory
My personal sense of unease
The imperial brotherhood, or: Androcentrism is everywhere
Are humans essentially selfish?
International Relations: The revolution begins
Epistemicide – the destruction of knowledge
The postcolonial perspective
Conclusion: Old white men – a narrow outlook
Nina Bernarding: ‘Gendering is a way of structuring power’
5. The beginnings of feminist foreign policy
1915: It all began in The Hague
The women’s resolution
Delegations with a mission
1919: A continent rearranged
Women and peace talks
From 1920: The re-emergence of hope
Feminist international law
Conclusion: The shoulders of giants
Chandra Mohanty: ‘My loyalty was never to an institution’
6. Feminist activism: UN Resolution 1325
In the UN Security Council
The idea of a feminist Security Council
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325
The example of Colombia
The example of NATO
The influence of feminist civil society on UN resolutions
Germany’s national action plan
Demanding the maximum and negotiating compromise
Conclusion: She who fights with monsters
Sanam Naraghi Anderlini: ‘Who fights for human rights? Women do’
7. The status quo of feminist foreign policy
Sweden
Canada
France
Mexico
Spain
Germany
Other states with a feminist foreign policy agenda
Staying power: The Global Partners Network
Small steps
Conclusion: The will for transformation
Cynthia Enloe: ‘Where are the women?’
8. Attacks on women’s, LGBTQI* and human rights
Networking
Power over Rights
The origins of anti-gender ideology
The old, the new and the allies
Defending the international patriarchal social order
The ‘Atlas of Civil Society’
The myth of gender ideology
Antifeminist strategies
What ‘protecting unborn life’ actually means
Conclusion: An unrelenting struggle
Jennifer Cassidy: ‘Old white men were teaching solely about old white men, and that made me furious’
9. Feminist global health policy
Covid is a feminist issue
The human right to health
Health diplomacy
Colonial tendencies in questions of health
Global injustices: North versus South
Sexual and reproductive health and rights
Forgotten groups in health policy
Conclusion: For a feminist global health policy
Beatrice Fihn: ‘It’s absurd that force and weapons are seen as guarantors of (inter)national security’
10. No climate justice without feminism
Led by women
Climate protection: An intensely feminist issue
The climate crisis doesn’t affect everyone equally
Climate justice = human justice
Control over nature and women
The man-made climate crisis
Climate and security
Objections and attacks
Conclusion: Climate justice and feminism – now!
J. Ann Tickner: ‘It doesn’t matter what the boys are doing
we’re doing much more interesting things anyway’
11. Making peace without weapons: Disarmament as a fundamental demand of feminism
My personal security flaw
The arms race spiral
Weapons kill women
Core objective: Demilitarization
Disarmament as a core feminist concern in history
A ‘no’ to the arms trade
A ‘no’ to nuclear weapons
A ‘no’ to killer robots
Conclusion: No security in patriarchy
Bonnie Jenkins: ‘It’s our job to question the status quo – again and again’
12. The future of foreign policy is feminist
Hopeless: Afghanistan 2021
The CFFP manifesto
Peace and security
Demilitarization, disarmament and arms (export) control
Human rights and the rule of law
Climate justice
Development cooperation
Migration
Global health
Decolonizing foreign policy
Fighting antifeminist attacks on the human rights system
Participation and leadership
Collaboration and feminist civil society
Conclusion: Change and growth
Samantha Power: ‘I want to create diplomatic progress’
13. Feminist foreign policy in times of war and conflict
Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine
The feminist revolution in Iran
Conclusion: short-term feminist interventions and long-term feminist transformation
14. Epilogue
My personal history: CFFP instead of the UN
The triple whammy
Conclusion: From angst to agency
P.S.: Only the strong stay soft!
Madeleine Rees: ‘I took off my velvet gloves a long time ago’
Acknowledgements
Abbreviations
Notes
Index
Subject Areas: Politics & government [JP]
