Get realist, girl! En idéanalys av förenligheten mellan ett feministiskt och realistiskt perspektiv på utrikespolitik
Abstract
In 2014 Sweden pioneered a feminist foreign policy, which sought to incorporate a feminist perspective into all facets of the state's foreign policy. This policy has been widely criticized however, for its incompatibility with the “realpolitical nature” of the field. The compatibility between a feminist and realist perspective has not yet been studied, and this paper wishes to bridge this gap. Using a descriptive idea analysis to examine the core principles of realism and feminism within the context of foreign policy, the study aims to discover how a feminist perspective on foreign policy competes with and completes a realist perspective. The results indicate that the feminist perspective enhances the traditional realist understanding of foreign policy in multiple ways, and that its normative character offers purpose to the field of foreign policy. However it also identifies certain points of contention where realism cannot accept the idealism of the feminist perspective, and which illustrates the value of realist pragmatism.
Degree
Student essay