The Promise and Pitfalls of a Feminist Foreign Policy
Virtual Briefing Series
Thursday, March 30, 2023 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Recently, several higher profile women have spoken of integrating a feminist foreign policy into their leadership, including Annalena Baerbock, Germany’s foreign minister. According to the International Center for Research on Women, feminist foreign policy “prioritizes peace, gender equality, and environmental integrity, enshrines the human rights of all, seeks to disrupt colonial, racist, patriarchal and male-dominated power structures; and allocates significant resources, including research, to achieve that vision.” Join us on Thursday, March 30th from 12 PM to 1 PM ET for a discussion with Dr. Jennifer Cassidy, Editor of the book “Gender and Diplomacy” (Routledge 2017), lecturer in International Relations at the University of Oxford, diplomatic consultant & international development expert; Spogmay Ahmed, Senior Policy Advisor for the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative; and Courtney Burns, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bucknell University, to address what a feminist foreign policy is, what separates it from a non-feminist foreign policy, why it is relevant now, and how to execute it.
COULDN’T ATTEND OUR EVENT? Don’t worry. You can watch it below
SUGGESTED MATERIALS:
Defining Feminist Foreign Policy: A 2021 Update, Lyric Thompson, Spogmay Ahmed and Tanya Khokhar; Internatinal Center for Research on Women, 2021
Gender and Diplomacy, Jennifer Cassidy, Published January 11, 2019 by Routledge
SPEAKERS:
Jennifer Cassidy
Dr. Jennifer A. Cassidy is a diplomatic scholar at the University of Oxford, where she lectures on Diplomacy and International Law, Digital Diplomacy, and Gender and Diplomacy. Her PhD (2017) from the University of Oxford focused on the emerging discipline of Digital Diplomacy. With a specific focus on the changing nature of digital diplomatic signalling and online strategic narratives during times of political crisis. Jennifer produced the first edited volume on Gender and Diplomacy: Theory and Practice (Routledge). Prior to teaching, Jennifer served as a diplomatic attaché to Ireland’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations (New York), European External Action Service to the Kingdom of Cambodia, and Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Headquarters during the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Jennifer also contributes regularly to media commentary, including the BBC, Sky News, ABC Australia and The Irish Times.
Spogmay Amed
Spogmay Ahmed (she/her) is the Senior Policy Advisor for the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative. In this capacity, she helps manage the Global Partner Network for Feminist Foreign Policy and the Coalition for a Feminist Foreign Policy in the United States, and provides overall policy and advocacy expertise for civil society, governments, and multilateral organizations.
Prior to joining the Collaborative, Spogmay served as Senior Global Policy Advocate at ICRW, handling ICRW’s portfolio on feminist foreign policy globally and in the United States. She has provided policy analysis and advocacy leadership in multilateral spaces, including the United Nations, G7, and G20. She previously managed ICRW’s signature Feminist UN Campaign and all associated publications. Spogmay previously served as the North America Organizing Partner for the Women’s Major Group, promoting civil society engagement in UN sustainable development processes.
Through her years of experience, Spogmay has gained a multifaceted understanding of the multilateral system – previously working with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok, Thailand and the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN in New York. Spogmay holds a Master in Public Affairs from Princeton University and a BA in International Affairs from the George Washington University. She speaks English and Pashto.
Courtney Burns
Courtney Burns is currently an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Bucknell University.
OUR VIRTUAL BRIEFINGS ARE FREE AND OPEN TO EVERYONE
Photo credit: CEE HER/GLOBSEC
We are trying our best to keep our community informed about foreign affairs, and we would appreciate if you can support us to keep this virtual briefing series going. No amount is too small.
