FFP is at a critical juncture. At once increasingly established as a national and international agenda, it is also still open to interpretation and change. Thinking through its origins, policy intersections, and potential future(s) is therefore key in understanding this point in its evolution. (Achilleos-Sarll et al. 2023)

In 2014, Sweden became the first country in the world to formally introduce a feminist foreign policy (FFP). Centering around the three Rs – Resources, Rights and Representation, Sweden’s approach has become a role model for other states to follow. Since 2014, other countries have followed suit and adopted a FFP approach to their foreign policy, such as Mexico, Canada, Spain, France and Germany. However, these approaches differ significantly in their contents, approaches, extents and impact. While, for instance, Germany draws heavily on the Swedish model, Canada has chosen a different path naming its approach Feminist International Assistance Policy that focuses mainly on development policy. Moreover, France’s Feminist Diplomacy not only bears another name but also diverges from the Swedish model and its 3 Rs.

Despite the states that have already adopted a FFP approach, a growing number of countries have announced that they will pursue some form of FFP. This gives momentum to a shift in the pursuit of foreign policy. However, the global rise of right-wing authoritarianism has resulted in attacks on feminist ideas and reduced funding for organizations that advocate for gender equality. In the case of Sweden, this led to the cancellation of the country’s FFP policy in the aftermath of their government elections in 2022. FFP now stands at a critical juncture, with Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine, the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict and the upcoming US election all posing further threats to feminist approaches to foreign policy. But how are FFP’s past, present and future intertwined and how can we trace its multidimensional and non-linear development?