Sweden’s new foreign minister has ditched its signature “feminist foreign policy”, arguing that the label has become more important than its content. But Tobias Billstrom said, “we will always stand for gender equality.”
The prime minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, presented his new government, backed by the far-right Sweden Democrats for the first time.
Sweden’s new foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom announced the radical policy shift. “Gender equality is a core value for Sweden and this government, but we will not conduct a feminist foreign policy. Because labels on things have a tendency to cover up the content” he said.
The online web page for the government’s former policy was no longer available.
What is feminist foreign policy?
In 2014, Margot Wallström, Minister of Foreign Affairs in the social democratic government, announced that the country’s foreign policy would be guided by a feminist foreign policy approach.
A former foreign minister, Margot Wallstrom, launched the policy emphasising the importance of the three ‘R’s: “rights, representation and resources”. Rights to political participation in civil society, economic emancipation and sexual and reproductive rights were just some of the flagship points of the foreign policy.
Sweden has inspired other countries with a feminist foreign policy approach. In 2017, Canada announced its feminist development policy. Sweden has also encouraged various initiatives and alliances in this field, political parties, including the UK’s Women’s Equality Party and German Green Party MPs. Germany’s new foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock, emphasised last year that she would pursue a “feminist foreign policy.”
Although the Swedish government has taken steps to increase women’s participation and influence in peace and state-building processes and to counter the structural causes of conflict and violence by putting “Women, Peace and Security” on its agenda, it has also been criticised for failing to fulfill the requirements of a feminist foreign policy. Sweden’s continued arms sales to conflict zones and to countries that deny women even the most basic human rights, such as Saudi Arabia, and to fragile and unstable states such as Thailand, where the risk of intense conflict is evident.