Nation Branding, Digital Advocacy and Feminist Foreign Policy

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter examines how Sweden’s feminist foreign policy was constructed and managed as a nation brand during its eight years of existence. This particular nation brand built on and was informed by Sweden’s longstanding state feminist tradition as well as its more recent digital sophistication. As the chapter shows, Sweden’s feminist foreign policy was an exercise in feminist branding, paired with a strong awareness that digital communication of feminist values required both pragmatism and policy adaptation. We analyse how strategies of hashtag feminism triggered resonance among global audiences not least in digital advocacy networks, drawing attention to and mobilising support for the distinct values and ambitions of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy. Finally, we examine how Sweden’s feminist foreign policy was contested by actors globally. To illustrate this process of contestation, we pay particular attention to a Swedish state visit to Iran in 2017, which triggered a range of strong online reactions.