Feminist Foreign Policy (?)



The last week, we have discussed the masculine and self-centric side of foreign policy. This week we are going to look at the alternative ways of how Sweden conducts her feminist foreign policy as a challenge and alternative to the traditional definition of foreign policy.

Back in 2014, Sweden has proclaimed to be the first state who uses feminism as its foreign policy ideology. The message is clear, in the male-dominated world, someone has to stand up to defend the feminine identity and the so-called marginalized voice through institutional ways. Margot Wallstrom was the one who announced it to the public when he was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs. A bold move considering the debates over feminism as a concept still widely occurs.

Basically, she interprets feminist foreign policy as a combination of three pillars: Representation, Resource, and Rights (3R). More representation of women in the decision making process. They are allocating more resources to address the minority group problem. And to construct a policy formulation that focuses on women's rights—in short, eliminating a structural barrier to women equality.

The debates spark along the way. Is it possible to not being self-centric in this anarchic world? How feminist is feminist foreign policy? How different is it from "traditional" foreign policy?
Here I discussed it with Radityo Dharmaputra, Foreign Policy Analysis lecturer at Airlangga University, who currently a PhD student at the University of Tartu, Estonia.

Here is the full record. Happy Listening!

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