Feminist Foreign Policy in Action

Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) questions traditional takes on foreign relations and is becoming increasingly widespread in the political world. Find out more about our work to further the dialogue on this topic.

A strong intersectional lens to rethink existing power structures

Over the past years, Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) has gained significant ground in policy discourse. Many countries in Europe and worldwide have proclaimed a feminist approach to their external actions.

Why? FFP offers a strong intersectional lens to rethink existing power structures both in global politics and societies. This way, it enables deep processes of self-reflection, the evaluation of external policies and their transformative potential. It strives to fight inequalities and to bring about systemic change through sustainability, participation and the inclusion of everyone.

Discover more about our work around FFP by browsing our publications and activities below.

Monday, 23.10.2023

Event
News

Walking the Talk: Feminist Foreign Policy in Action

Join our international conference on Feminist Foreign Policy in cooperation with FEPS on 23 October. Register now!

Monday, 19.02.2024

Event

Policy Study Launch: How to support feminist leadership in Europe

Join our the launch of our new policy study "Women CSO leaders for systemic change - How to support feminist leadership in Europe" on Monday, 19 February.

Thursday, 18.04.2024

News
Publication

Policy Brief: A European Feminist Foreign Policy?

Feminist foreign policy (FFP) has gained significant ground across the globe, but a lot remains to be done. Read some concrete policy recommendations in our new policy brief.

Together with FEPS, we launched the Feminist Foreign Policy Progressive Voices Collective (FFPPVC) in 2023. The project and builds on a global multistakeholder feminist foreign policy community and aims to advance policy recommendations for both European and national policymakers. The Collective gathers feminist policy experts on a periodic and ad-hoc basis, depending on current events. With particular attention to gender and intersectional considerations, its mission consists of discussing international politics from a feminist lens and helps to gear the ideas and policy recommendations emerging from this project.

Our objective is to:

create a clear, shared vision of feminist foreign policy for progressive policymakers by developing a basic framework, sharing best practices and collecting relevant indicators;
analyse the main challenges when it comes to promoting FFP as a goal of EU external action by reviewing the current practices and culture regarding gender mainstreaming and transformative thinking to overcome persisting barriers;
demonstrate the benefits of a European Feminist Foreign Policy and advance policy recommendations based on national good practices.

If you are interested in joining the conversations or would like to know more about the research and collective, please reach out to Agnes Mach, our Policy Officer for Gender Justice Agnes.Mach(at)fes.de.

Podcast with Toni Haastrup & Lina Gálvez

Gender justice once seemed the natural path towards a more equal and fair society. But with the global order shifting and debates around multilateralism intensifying, progress can no longer be taken for granted.

Feminist Foreign Policy can help embed gender-responsive, justice-oriented thinking and establish an international accountability framework. It offers a way to rethink concepts of security, cooperation, and power. However, it also has its limitations.

In this podcast, Lina Gálvez, FEPS Vice-President and Chair of the FEPS Scientific Council, S&D MEP, and Chair of the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, and Toni Haastrup, Professor and Chair in Global Politics at the School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, discuss Feminist Foreign Policy in depth.

Publications

“Beyond Values - How Feminist Foreign Policy Serves Strategic Interests” by Leonie Stamm, October 2025.
"Feminist Foreign Policy Progressive Voices Collective. Policy Recommendations" by FEPS & FES EU Office, December 2024.
"A Feminist Foreign Policy Approach to EU Security and Defence. A Contradiction in Terms" by Annika Bergman Rosamond, November 2024.
"From Talking to Walking. Using Feminist Foreign Policy to Fund Feminist Organising" by Benedicta Aloakinnou et al., November 2024.
"Feminist Foreign Policy in the EU and Latin America. Building Bridges and Sharing Lessons Learned" by Daniela Sepúlveda et. al., October 2024.
"Embracing Feminist Foreign Policy within EU Strategic Foresight Capabilities" by Anastaesia Mondesir, June 2024.
A European Feminist Foreign Policy: The Need for a Progressive and Transformative Approach" by Aline Burni and Laeticia Thissen, February 2024.

Events

Towards a Feminist Foreign Policy in Latin America and the Caribbean

In July 2024, Mexico hosted the third Ministerial Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy, making it the first ministerial conference organised by a country in the Global South. FES Mexico and the FESminismos regional project organised a side-event along with other civil society organisation to discuss FFP from a Latin American perspective, including issues like feminist fiscal justice, reproductive rights or participation mechanisms.

"Walking the Talk": Feminist Foreign Policy in Action

On 23 and 24 October 2023, we organised a conference on FFP in the context of EU external action together with our project partner FEPS. Prominent speakers such as Benedicta Lasi, Secretary General of Socialist International, and Svenja Schulze, German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, discussed how feminist thinking can be best applied to EU trade and development policies as well as the reconstruction of Ukraine. A recording of the individual sessions is available in this playlist.