Feminist Foreign Policy

In the past decade, multiple states around the world have signed up to pursue a feminist foreign policy (FFP). Some, like Sweden and more recently also the Netherlands, have already retracted these promises. In the face of the surge of far-right parties and politicians in Europe and in the US, what does the future hold for FFP? Is there potential for FFP in the V4 countries? What makes a foreign policy truly feminist? An international conference organized by the Prague office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung (HBS) in cooperation with the Association for International Affairs (AMO) on 25 March 2025 brought together policymakers, government representatives, academics, think-tank experts, and civil society organizations to discuss these issues.

The rise of the far-right movement and recent shifts in global politics have led to significant cuts in foreign development assistance. What are the impacts on feminist and civil society organizations?

As human rights funding shrinks, feminist movements struggle to sustain their work while meeting donor demands. How can feminist funding literacy help organizations secure resources without compromising their mission?

In 2023, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office and its Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development published guidelines for a feminist foreign and development policy. Political headwinds, however, are jeopardising the implementation of the concepts.

It has been now almost one year since Germany introduced its feminist foreign and development policy. For FAIR SHARE of Women Leaders, this endeavour meant to influence especially the German process of implementing these feminist policies.

Feminist peace is directly linked to a commitment to demilitarization, but the concrete implementation of this often appears inadequate. A discussion with Hilina Berhanu Degefa and Barbara Mittelhammer.

Russian Imperialism has created many myths about Ukrainians and cannot be understood without a gender lense. Ukrainians are today persistently striving to uphold their national identity and advance gender emancipation, drawing parallels with the women’s movement in Ukraine a century ago.

Students from Comenius University in Bratislava, Slovakia reflect on their impressions of the HBS study trip on “Feminist and Climate Foreign Policy” in Berlin, Germany and stress the importance of a vital civic society for the functioning of any democratic country.