What is Feminist Foreign Policy? Analysis of Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy

Abstract

This thesis explores what feminist foreign policy is and if this is evident in Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy. I conceptualize the essential purpose and elements of a feminist foreign policy through feminist theories and civil society research. I, then, examine Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy through critical discourse analysis to see if it embodies the essential characteristics of a feminist foreign policy. I argue that a feminist foreign policy is profoundly transformative in its conceptualization of security, power and implementation, and that Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy is ineffective in embodying this transformative potential for development and security. This thesis, thereby, situates Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy in the feminist framework, with the hope of contributing to better feminist policymaking and implementation.