Introduction

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter introduces the study of the politics of feminist foreign policy and digital diplomacy. It unpacks two transformative and intersecting developments: (1) Sweden’s adoption of a distinct feminist branding of its foreign policy and (2) the embrace of digitalisation in diplomacy. In 2014, Sweden made history by becoming the first country in the world to launch a feminist foreign policy. This pioneering political move demanded both visibility and global attention, prompting Sweden to explore new digital environments and social media platforms, which would offer both scale and reach. Subsequently, several other states followed suit, embracing Sweden’s feminist foreign policy as a model of foreign policy conduct. This feminist shift in global politics has given rise to contestation, resistance and rejection by a range of global actors. This chapter advances a novel conceptual framework for studying the relationship between feminist foreign policy and digital diplomacy. The framework employs three key concepts: (a) articulation, (b) resonance and (c) contestation. These concepts are used to analyse Sweden’s feminist foreign policy leadership, nation branding and visual representation in global politics.