Description
Over the past two decades an exciting and enriching theoretical and empirical debate on Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) has emerged. However, we contend that the first wave of the debate falls short in terms of explaining the causal mechanisms that might explain why FFP rises, endures and in some cases is abandoned. In an attempt to redress this and move the debate to its next agenda, we propose bringing FFP into conversation with FPA in relation to three key issues. Firstly, we argue that FFP scholarship should adopt an explicit conception of the state, which we contend it currently does not do. Secondly, there is value added to opening up the black box of the state and systematically exploring the effects that both domestic political and leader-focused factors could exert on the pursuit or rejection of FFPs. Thirdly, scholarship could shift the emphasis from the articulation to the implementation of FFPs. In so doing, the next FFP agenda could contribute to a greater understanding of the drivers of decision making, conflict and cooperation in international relations, in an era in which gender has become a flashpoint for contestation between international actors.
