Political Leadership and the Digital Diffusion of Feminist Foreign Policy

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter examines the role of political leadership and the utilisation of digital diplomacy in advancing the norms and objectives of feminist foreign policy. It explores the various roles that leaders play in the political articulation, resonance and contestation of feminist foreign policy in the digital realm. It specifically analyses how and in what ways former Swedish foreign minister Margot Wallström actively engaged, as a norm entrepreneur, in efforts to garner political support for Sweden’s feminist foreign policy, while disseminating a feminist vision of a more gender-just world order to global online audiences. Moreover, the chapter examines how Wallström strategically articulated Sweden’s feminist foreign policy as a prioritised agenda and the international resonance it elicited, particularly evidenced by the positive responses of states such as Canada and Germany. Finally, the chapter elucidates the ramifications of political leadership and gendered contestation on social media by analysing Sweden’s role in the #shedecides digital campaign. This campaign was triggered in response to the reinstatement of the US global gag rule by the Trump Administration, which sought to restrict the sexual and reproductive rights of girls and women worldwide.