Description
IR and foreign policy literatures have begun paying increasing attention to ideas and practices that challenge the conventional approaches to foreign policy. While Feminist foreign policies by states, such as Canada, Mexico, and formerly Sweden, have sought to place gender equality squarely at the centre of foreign policy, Indigenous/First Nations approaches to foreign policy, a new and novel concept, foregrounds principles such as relationality, Indigenous rights and justice. Although Feminist and Indigenous scholars have respectively explored such approaches, these literatures have emerged largely in isolation. With a view of bridging this gap, our analysis draws on Native American Anishinaabe scholar Gerald Vizenor’s concept of survivance to explore the intersections – both theoretical and policy – between Feminist and Indigenous foreign policies. We seek not only to advance the theorising of ‘alternative’ foreign policies, but also identify lessons learned for more effective approaches and strategies mobilised by Feminist activist and sovereign Indigenous peoples.
