Rethinking Feminist Foreign Policy

In 2023, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office (Auswärtiges Amt, AA) adopted 10 guidelines meant to make a ​“feminist reflex” part of everyday German diplomacy. Two years later, its Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) was disbanded, with many former FFP advocates expressing bitterness over the program. This study reconstructs how FFP was implemented inside the AA and asks how a future ​“FFP 2.0” attempt could learn from the first program’s shortcomings. 

The record of Germany’s short commitment to FFP is mixed. It led to tangible changes within the working structures of the AA and the minister’s own diplomatic practice, and created space for feminist actors that had previously been excluded. But it did not bring about a paradigm shift in German foreign policy. This became particularly visible for the areas where feminist goals clashed with other interests, as the political leadership often deprioritized the former. The ministry also expected staff to independently apply the guidelines without the resources, binding targets or career incentives necessary. In specific, Germany’s position on the war in Gaza cost the FFP much of its credibility with feminist partners.

The study sets out what opposition and civil society can do to defend what FFP achieved in those two years. It also highlights highlights a crucial precondition for a successful FFP 2.0: a government should only launch an FFP program if it is also prepared to prioritize feminist goals in difficult trade-offs. Where such backing exists, a relaunch would also need sequenced mainstreaming, a dedicated staff and budget, binding targets with clear leadership responsibility, and a standardized feminist impact assessment for major decisions.

This study (available in German) was originally published by the Heinrich Böll Stiftung.