Description
The transformative potential of Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) remains elusive despite its rising momentum. First conceptualised as a mechanism for integrating gender equality into foreign and domestic affairs, FFP is now a contested paradigm (Thompson, 2020), balancing ethical ideals and pragmatism (Aggestam & Rosamond, 2019) with divergent normative underpinnings (Nylund et al., 2022). Largely grounded in liberal feminism, FFP ignores gendered power structures and colonial histories (Achillleos-Sarl 2018). Critical scholars assert that adopting a postcolonial intersectional lens could help FFP realise its potential as a transformative feminist agenda (Nylund et al., 2022). This paper seeks to understand the extent to which the Blue Pacific’s regional climate response constitutes a postcolonial, intersectional normative approach associated with a transformative FFP. This paper uses an ethics of care theoretical framework first conceptualised by Aggestam et al. (2019) to conceptualise FFP as relational, contextualised and gendered. For this paper, I will adopt a case study analysis of regional Pacific forums and conduct semi-structured interviews with Pacific gender experts and grassroots feminist organisations. I anticipate that my research results will show that the Blue Pacific’s regional climate response and the postcolonial, intersectional experiences of climate security will align with the transformative underpinnings of FFP. This research will contribute to the nascent postcolonial, intersectional FFP literature through a bottom-up feminist methodological approach that supports a decolonial and localised understanding of gendered peace and security.
