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A study of the implementation of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy

Research project

Active research

Project period

2022 - 2023

Project owner

Department of Political Science

Financier

The Expert Group for Aid Studies (EBA)

Area

Society and economy

Topic

Political Science

Short description

In 2014, Sweden became the first country in the world to declare a feminist foreign policy, which shall permeate the three policy areas encompassed by Swedish foreign policy – foreign and security policy, development cooperation, and trade and promotion policy.

Ann Towns (P.I.), Kristen Kao, Elin Bjarnegård (Uppsala University) and Katarzyna Jezierska (University West) have been designated by the Expert Group of Aid Studies (EBA) to assess the Swedish Feminist Foreign Policy over time and its implementation and effectiveness across contexts.

The assessment will be carried out during 2022, with the final report delivered in 2023.

Report "More Than a Label, Less Than a Revolution: Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy"

During eight years, 2014–2022, Sweden pursued a feminist foreign policy (FFP). Sweden was the first country in the world to declare an FFP and also became the first country to retract one. Since 2014, FFP has spread internationally, and around ten countries have declared their own versions. But to what degree and how was Sweden’s feminist foreign policy translated into practical action in terms of gender equality work? The EBA report More Than a Label, Less Than a Revolution: Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy (EBA 2023:02) presents the first systematic study of the implementation of FFP. It follows the implementation chain from the Government to embassies and public authorities within the three areas of foreign policy – development cooperation, security policy, and trade and promotion.

You find the report here.