KİTAP İNCELEMESİ: Feminist Foreign Policy in Theory and in Practice: An Introduction & Feminist Foreign Policy Analysis: A New Subfield & The Politics of Feminist Foreign Policy and Digital Diplomacy

Abstract

Feminism has introduced new concepts, subjects, and approaches to International Relations (IR) since the 1980s to enhance its explanatory power and inclusivity (Tür and Aydın-Koyuncu 2010: 19). Feminist foreign policy (FFP) is a notable example, challenging traditional, malecentric “high politics” of security and diplomacy by placing gender equality, human rights, and the lived experiences of marginalized groups at the center of a state’s international agenda. As FFP has evolved over the past decade, research on its theories and methods has also advanced. From Sweden’s pioneering declaration in 2014 to Mexico’s groundbreaking adoption in 2020, countries worldwide have experimented with incorporating feminist principles into their diplomatic, security, and development agendas. Academic engagement with FFP has likewise increased, including insights from feminist IR theory, foreign policy analysis (FPA), and decolonial thought. Three recent volumes, Foster and Markham’s Feminist Foreign Policy in Theory and in Practice (2024), Aggestam and True’s Feminist Foreign Policy Analysis: A New Subfield (2024), and Aggestam, Bergman-Rosamond, and Hedling’s The Politics of Feminist Foreign Policy and Digital Diplomacy (2024), together outline the landscape of FFP as a policy framework, scholarly subfield, and area of critical debate. These three books broaden the literature by providing a deeper understanding of how and why various gender and feminist approaches and strategies are implemented in practice. They offer complementary but distinct perspectives on the conceptualization, institutionalization, and transformation of FFP. Taken together, these books illustrate both the promise and the contested politics of feminist interventions in foreign policy.

Keywords

Feminism, Foreign Policy

Citation

Akgemci, E. 2026. Review of Feminist Foreign Policy in Theory and in Practice: An Introduction, by Stephenie Foster and Susan A. Markham; Feminist Foreign Policy Analysis: A New Subfield, edited by Karin Aggestam and Jacqui True; and The Politics of Feminist Foreign Policy and Digital Diplomacy, by Karin Aggestam, Annika Bergman-Rosamond, and Elsa Hedling. Uluslararası İlişkiler, Advanced Online Publication, 5 August 2026: 1–11. DOI: 10.33458/uidergisi.1998789

Affiliations

Esra Akgemci Associate Professor, Department of International Relations, Selçuk University, Konya. E-Mail: [email protected] Orcid: 0000-0003-4119-2443