Policy Brief: Feminist foreign policy in the EU and Latin America

Latin America is a leading region in developing FFPs

Feminist foreign policies (FFPs) are no longer exclusive to Global North countries. The adherence of Mexico (2020), Chile (2023) and Colombia (2024) to this project illustrates that Latin America is a leading region in developing FFPs and opens new opportunities for collaboration with the EU. FFPs originating from both regions exhibit many common themes and priorities, but the Latin American FFPs also contribute new perspectives from the Global South based on their own history, interpretation of feminism, and tradition of feminist activism in domestic and foreign policy. In addition, taking stock of the development of FFPs in Latin America offers best practices and lessons learned, such as applying an intersectional perspective to global power dynamics and greater collaboration with local civil society.

This policy brief provides an overview of existing Latin American FFPs, including analysing innovative approaches and the main lessons from their development. It then focuses on identifying opportunities for partnership with the EU, including through working to create more feminist economic systems that involve incorporating gender perspectives into trade agreements and emphasising the care economy. This area offers many opportunities for strategic political collaboration with the EU and helps ensure greater alignment between internal and external policy.

By focusing on some of the critical considerations that Latin American FFPs are bringing to the multilateral stage, this policy brief asks the following questions: What are some of the best practices that can be shared between Latin America and the EU about the different approaches to developing FFPs? What opportunities are there for jointly advancing feminist principles in different policy areas? Therefore, rather than assuming a universal formula for designing FFPs, this policy brief analyses opportunities for transregional knowledge sharing.

Feminist Foreign Policy Progressive Voices Collective

This brief is part of the Feminist Foreign Policy Progressive Voices Collective (FFPPVC), which we lead together with FEPS. The Collective questions traditional approaches to foreign policy to enable an alternative account of foreign relations from the standpoint of the most disadvantaged.

The Feminist Foreign Policy Progressive Voices Collective aims to advance concrete policy recommendations and will build on a multistakeholder feminist foreign policy community, which will gather feminist policy experts.

Read the policy study here:

• "Feminist foreign policy in the EU and Latin America" by Sepúlveda, Daniela; Papworth, Evyn; Leite, Thainá, October 2024