In 2014, then-Foreign Minister and vice-president of Sweden’s social democratic government, Margo Velström, introduced a new ideological and political direction into the international diplomatic jargon: feminist foreign policy. But what is feminist foreign policy?

The basic principle, grosso modo, of this policy is that in every diplomatic and development relationship that develops between countries, a central element is the motivation for programs that prioritize gender equality, the fight against sexual and sexist violence, the emancipation of women and minorities. . Simply put: any transnational assistance and relationship depends on the state of these rights in each country and on efforts to eradicate any discrimination and violence.

Since then, a lot of water has entered the ditch. Feminist foreign policy has not only been adopted by a number of countries—Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, Mexico, France, Canada, New Zealand, Chile, Luxembourg—but has extended its borders to all kinds of oppressed and marginalized minorities. At the same time, in international diplomatic practice, this means encouraging and promoting women diplomats to key positions.

The founder of the policy, certainly Sweden, moved away from feminist foreign policy last year, after the election of an ultra-conservative coalition government of right-wing and far-right parties.

However, when Germany’s three-party government signed the program agreement in late 2021, the stigma and influence of Greens and Feminist Foreign Minister Analena Burbock was clear. The new government’s declaration explicitly and unequivocally adopted a feminist foreign policy.

In just the last few days, Analena Burbock, who according to German sources “frozen” the originally proclaimed feminist foreign policy, has laid out dozens of pages of instructions for sailors to renew the faith and implement the policy, together with the Social Development Minister of the Democratic Party Svenia Sulce.

It was preceded by a dinner with 100 women on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in mid-February, where the German foreign minister spoke about networking, feminist discourse and equality in the presence of Nobel laureates, activists, politicians and entrepreneurs. Because, according to Burbock, only 27% of positions in German embassies are still held by women, according to Tagesspiegel.

But this was preceded earlier in the year by her article in Project Syndicate, where she made clear references to German politics, characteristically writing: “If half the population is oppressed, neither society nor the economy can flourish. That is why, for my government, a feminist foreign policy that promotes the equal rights of each of us in our society is a key security issue. It will feature prominently in the National Security Strategy that we are currently developing. “Women are the first victims of war, but they alone hold the only key to peace.” This is how the Congolese human rights activist Julien Lisange put it. “Only if women are safe, everyone is safe,” courageous women in Ukraine told me. “Women. ZOE. Freedom” is what women in Iran are shouting. Their song, echoing around the world, is a hymn to courage. If I am going to draw strength for 2023, I draw it from such brave women, be they from Congo, Iran, Afghanistan or Ukraine.”

The new directive from the German Foreign Minister includes two central axes: the creation of the position of a feminist foreign policy ambassador and a fund equal to 8% of Germany’s development spending of 12 billion euros, which will be allocated to projects with a main goal. gender equality. According to Spiegel, Bourbock is pushing for change at many levels in his ministry. “When hiring, we check whether candidates have the skills of equality and diversity.” All new managers, according to the same report, will also receive anti-bias training, and the gender ratio of the diplomatic staff should be strengthened.

Simultaneously with Bourbock, the development minister presented a 40-page strategy. According to Schulze, the goal is to significantly increase the percentage of projects that promote equality. “Now we have 65%. This is much lower than in other countries. I would like to increase this figure to 93% in the coming years,” says Tagesschau.

Burbock has thus far, according to Reuters, covered gender issues in her travels abroad, such as sexual violence during the conflict in Ukraine and abortion in the United States. Together with the Minister for Development, they attach great importance to drawing attention to projects that they consider exemplary and in which women play a leading role. Whether it’s the bosses of the Ethiopian coffee bakery Bourbock recently visited, or the cocoa cooperative run by the woman who impressed Schultz a few days ago in the Ivory Coast, according to the Tagesschau report.

However, according to German publications, the two ministers will not apply this policy only abroad. According to the directive, the principles and applications of feminist foreign policy must penetrate the interior of the country through the remaining ministries and services.

However, Analena Bourbock told reporters yesterday that “we are not calling for a revolution, but we are doing the obvious.”

However, according to The Associated Press, Welthungerhilfe, a German NGO that supports aid programs in Africa, Latin America and Asia, praised the initiative but criticized it for being unclear about exactly how feminists would implement it. funded. “The issue of funding remains open. Local civil society organizations must be adequately funded and have easy access to funds,” the group said in a statement. “How this will be done… remains an open question.”

At the same time, critics of the two ladies, such as G.G. the liberal Free Democrats, the government’s third partner, and Markus Söder, the Bavarian premier and head of the CSU, say, Politico reports that the government should avoid slipping into moralism, calling the plan “incomprehensible”, with Sender noting that “A journey around the world everything else they should and should not do is doomed to failure.”