Feminist Foreign Policy – Breaking Down Culturally Constructed Barriers
[In many cultures, weapons are associated with masculinity and the readiness to use military action and wield weapons. Often disarmament is identified with emasculation, whereas armament and a large stockpile expresses manliness and even at times male birth and dominance.
The link between masculinity and the use of force is demonstrated in an anecdote Dr. Carol Cohn was told by a male physicist who was a member of a nuclear strategist group working on modelling counterforce nuclear attacks and realistic estimates of the number of immediate fatalities.
“At one point, we re-modelled a particular attack, using slightly different assumptions, and found that instead of there being 36 million immediate fatalities, there would only be 30 million. And everybody was sitting around nodding, saying, ‘Oh yes, that’s great, only 30 million,’ when all of a sudden, I heard what we were saying. And I blurted out, ‘Wait, I’ve just heard how we’re talking – Only 30 million! Only 30 million human beings killed instantly?’ Silence fell upon the room. Nobody said a word. They didn’t even look at me. It was awful. I felt like a woman.” The physicist added that henceforth he was careful never to blurt out anything like that again.
The physicist who blurted out his distress was marked as feminine, causing the idea to be devalued in the discourse and preventing others from agreeing with him or leading to serious deliberations on the issue raised. However, limiting national and security strategy to just the weapons and their use neglects a significant part of the equation.
The emergence of a Feminist Foreign Policy has highlighted the need to also look at the human security dimension of conflicts. When devising policy, the impact of the weapons, their destructive capabilities and the means to defuse a conflict, other than by the use of force, should all be taken into account. A Feminist Foreign Policy urges States to adopt a more comprehensive approach focused on intersectionality and the human security dimension.
The first State to announce a Feminist Foreign Policy was Sweden in 2014. The Swedish framework extends to all domains of foreign policy and is based on the so-called “three Rs”:
rights
representation and
resources.
Since Sweden’s announcement, other States such as Canada and Mexico have also launched a Feminist Foreign Policy.
In promoting a Feminist Foreign Policy, states offer an alternative approach to strategizing about security and the use of weapons by elevating a gender discourse in matters concerning disarmament, the value of multilateral instruments, inspections, verification and reduction in arms. This shift in focus not only breaks down culturally constructed barriers and walls, but also moves the discussion from one associated with weapons and masculinity to one focused on human security, negotiation, cooperation and equality and equity of all.]
In this video you will learn about:
the socially constructed perceptions of masculine vs feminine tendencies concerning international security and weapons policies and strategies
the emergence of a Feminist Foreign Policy
Understanding Gendered Perceptions in International Relations
Gender is a way of structuring relations of power and can function as a symbolic system shaping our ideas about politics, weapons and warfare.
Gender coding related to human action refers to the tendency to perceive any action or endeavor, even at the subconscious level, as being more or less masculine or feminine and therefore valued or devalued accordingly based on individual/societal value systems.
This gendered effect has an impact on politics, especially related to weapons, and influences policy decisions and choices.
A clear example of the gendered effect was seen in the media’s portrayal of George H.W. Bush, in which fears of the 41st President of the United States being weak and not fit to run the country circulated the media streams, with Newsweek calling Bush’s greatest challenge his “wimp factor”. Many media outlets announced that President George H.W. Bush freed himself of the “wimp factor” when he deployed forces overseas during the Gulf War. Authors, like Stephen Ducat, have shed light on the gendered effect in politics, in which his book The Wimp Factor looks at the connection between the fear of being perceived as weak or feminine and the tendency to embrace militaristic actions to be viewed more masculine.
The language used and the gendered effect of words in societies and communities have a symbolic impact on how topics are addressed. The above examples of gendered words define masculinity and femineity as opposites. In the arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation dialogue, “masculine” perceived traits and words are often more valued than “feminine” perceived traits and words. As in the example of George H.W. Bush and the “wimp factor”, gendered words can impact political actions, thoughts and even military decisions.
Evolution of Feminist Foreign Policy
In 2014 the world‘s first Feminist Foreign Policy was announced by Sweden’s Foreign Minister Margot Wallström. Canada emerged as the second country to announce the adoption of a Feminist International Assistance Policy in 2017.
Since then, a handful of other countries have either announced intention to or adopted a Feminist Foreign Policy.
All policies are different, with Sweden’s approach being the most comprehensive extending to all areas of foreign policy. The Swedish Framework incorporates the so-called 3 Rs:
Rights
Resources
Representation
Proposals for the EU to adopt a Feminist Foreign Policy approach were presented in the EU Parliament led by the German Green Party. The EU Parliament adopted a Feminist Foreign Policy in late 2020 with 477 Members of the European Parliament voting in favor, 112 voting against and 94 who did not cast a vote.
(EU Observer, Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy )
Bernarding, Nina and Kristina Lunz, “A Feminist Foreign Policy for the European Union”, Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy, June 2020, CC BY 2.0.
Initiatives and Actions in Promoting Gender and Disarmament
[Despite the growing international norm to acknowledge different impacts of various weapon systems on gender, and commitments to gender parity and full and equal participation in disarmament discussions, work remains to be done in order to achieve the goals laid out in several international agreements.
One initiative that seeks to assist in this regard is the International Gender Champions, or IGC, which is a leadership network comprised of female and male heads of permanent missions, embassies, international organizations, civil society and the private sector. The goal is to break down gender barriers and make gender equality a working reality in their spheres of influence. The initiative commenced in 2015 in Geneva, and since has grown to include hubs in more than four other cities. The network has over 200 active Champions and more than 100 alumni. All Champions commit to the panel parity pledge, an undertaking not to speak on single-sex panels, and they develop two personal commitments to be completed within one year, such as:
promote work-family life balance through early information and advance notice of meetings to enhance predictability and planning
produce at least two factsheets with recommendations for gender mainstreaming in multilateral negotiations; and
introduce innovative recruitment and retention policies and practices to improve gender balance.
In addition, the IGC has developed over 5 impact groups, including one on disarmament with the goal of integrating the disarmament community into the wider gender equality agendas. In this regard a gender and disarmament resource pack was produced. Another impact group developed a gender-responsive assemblies toolkit or “how to” guide on how to implement good practices and achieve immediate, consistent and measurable progress on the road to parity. Worth mentioning is the impact group on trade, which spear headed the historic Buenos Aires Declaration on Women and Trade with over 100 member states and observers joining.
Another initiative modelled on the IGC was launched in 2018 called Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy, which is designed to support women in the nuclear policy field by adding commitment at the leadership level.
Civil society organizations and international organizations are also active in promoting gender equality and have designed and developed dedicated resources to help increase awareness and capacity-building in this area. eLearning modules, such as this one, are on the rise, with online courses developed by the UN Organization for Disarmament Affairs, or UNODA, and UN Women available.
Other organizations have comprised databases and established hubs focused on gender and disarmament, this includes the UN Institute for Disarmament Research and Reaching Critical Will.
Specific scholarship and mentorship programs have also flourished to promote the role of women in the field, including UNODA’s Women Scholarship for Peace, the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies Young Women in Nonproliferation Initiative, and the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship program.]
In this video you will learn about actions, initiatives and educational opportunities focused on improving the role of women and providing a gender perspective in the disarmament field, including:
International Gender Champions initiative
Gender Champions in Nuclear Policy initiative
Education and capacity-building opportunities, like Women Scholarship for Peace
Databases and resources available
International Gender Champions
[Your transcript here]
The International Gender Champions (IGC) Secretariat produced a short video explaining the IGC initiative that strives to break down gender barriers and work towards gender equality. The video covers the three main pillars of the initiative:
Gender Parity Pledge
Individual Commitments by the Champions (minimum two SMART commitments)
