The Future of Feminist Foreign Policy: Notes from the FFP Futures Lab 3
As we share this report from our Third Feminist Foreign Policy Lab, we hold the people of Palestine, past, present, and future in our hearts. Imagination is resistance to colonialism, and we earnestly hope that the seeds this lab sowed encourages dreaming, visioning, and enacting a feminist future. Dominant images and oppressive narratives that go unchallenged and unaddressed colonize the future. We believe that futures-oriented solidarity is built on the foundations of exposing assumptions, strengthening hope, amplifying calls for liberation, and nurturing creative imagination. We've heard multiple voices world over affirm that we aren't liberating Palestine, Palestine is liberating us, and we echo this sentiment.
The third and final futures lab on feminist foreign policy in our series began with participants highlighting a need to critique power, identify more transformative policy modes, exploring the nexus of migration and security and considering phenomena such as the climate crisis and the impact that may have on foreign policies.
Probable Futures
Moving into an exploration of probable futures, our participants highlighted the likely persistence of a nation-state structured globe, increased economic inequality, mass displacement ongoing to climate catastrophe and yet more quotas for women and marginalised groups in policy-making spaces. Shaping this trajectory included present day factors such as militarization of borders, obsessive and dominant capitalism, unequal access to human mobility, contemporary geopolitical tensions and land displacement and extractive development models. Participants also noted structural barriers and obstacles to transformative action, including the structure of the UN Security Council and a multilateral sphere not fit for purpose, racial injustices and inequalities stemming from colonialism, and neo-colonial economic models.
Desirable Futures
A desirable future for our participants would be without gender norms, a world where mutual well-being was foundational as opposed to narratives of growth. Equitable distribution of resources, fluid and free expression, undisputed human rights, collective and innovative decision making and a turn away from free market economics and public value for education and healthcare.
At the centre of a preferable world would be systems of care. Needs would be met in equitable ways, collective care workers have labour rights protected and the presence of care infrastructure to redistribute reproductive labour. The notion of being stewards of earth would be deeply rooted. Modes of organising society would be transparent and democratic, with all people having time to live leisurely and pursue their dreams and develop talents.There would be no expenditure on military, and instead social policy would be prioritised.
A desirable future calls for systems change, not merely reforms of existing ways of organising human life.
Reframe
Inviting an exploration of uncertainty and complexity, participants were presented with the reframe scenario designed for this series of labs, with the aim of further challenging their anticipatory assumptions.
Welcome to an alternative world. States are split into three self-proclaimed global coalitions: feminist, conservative, and the unbranded. Most of the conservative states are former colonial powers, half of them have nuclear weapons. A third of the unbranded states are former colonies but with strong ties to their colonisers. Two unbranded states have nuclear capacity. One feminist state was a former coloniser, two have nuclear weapons. But, mass public support is with anti-institutional, heterarchical people's movements. These are also splintered, some claim to be feminist, others conservative, and many are unbranded. Indigenous movements are strong in the unbranded states. There is a transnational mobilisation for human rights. There is also an active anarchist movement. The fascist movement is strong. Each type of movement exists within all states. Technology has been an enabler of connection for all movements. The climate is in total breakdown.
Guiding Questions:
What does a feminist foreign policy look like in this world?
What does accountability / justice mean in this world?
What does gender / sexuality look like in this world?
What does security look like in this world?
Engaging in causal layered analysis, participants wondered at the headlines in such a world. They expressed ideas such as ‘collaboration seen as the only viable alternative for survival’ and yet a tension ‘global power struggle between coalitions, shifting alliances and nuclear tensions.’ Peoples movements putting forward their visions to disrupt former colonisers from shaping agendas. The variety of groups and coalitions would use technology to aid their cause with tension apparent. Among the counter movements disillusioned with institutions, bring forth indigenous rights and feminist systems of care, a sign that ‘another world is possible’. Exploring the reframe scenario, participants shared a variety of myths to capture the worldviews apparent - ‘us vs. them’, the myth of scarcity: ‘there is not enough’, ‘a few people are responsible for destroying the world’, ‘a patchwork quilt of cultures’ and the myth of identity: ‘walk a mile in someone’s shoes’. Capturing these ideas in poetry, images and drama, participants took time to create a group collage:
New Questions and Goals
Comparing and contrasting the different images of the future across the phases, participants returned to the present and posed new questions for feminist foreign policy and, in turn, articulated an action step or goal to answer it.
Questions:
How can we address the climate crisis to prevent the world from reaching the point of ‘total breakdown’?
How can a Feminist Foreign Policy transform gender unjust migration systems?
How can we promote and celebrate diverse gender and sexual identities and indigenous cultures?
How can we ensure that diverse voices and perspectives are heard and valued in global decision-making processes?
How can we effectively counter the rise of authoritarian and fascist movements in our world?
How can a human-centred approach address the national vs. global interest conundrum?
How can we find a way to address emergencies but still keep true to our feminist agendas?
How can nations and groups with differing values find common ground and work together effectively?
How can we support other states while respecting their feminisms?
Action
Develop and implement comprehensive action plans that include mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Minimum resource commitments to feminist agencies and alignment of approaches
Centring migrant populations and migrant women’s rights advocates in the FFP conversation!
Backcasting
Reflecting on these proposed action steps, participants worked together to generate a backcast, working backwards to create a roadmap for these visions, noting the milestones, obstacles and wildcards that may emerge on the journey.
Milestones:
Migrant women’s organisations and communities regularly consulted as partners and their demands and visions shaping FFP formulation
Global convention on FFP definitions and implementation
Feminist research methods, calling for co creation, collaboration, community, participatory research and action
IFFP shaped by diverse stakeholders, indigenous communities, migrant populace
Drafting action plans on mitigation and adaptation
Obstacles:
Pushback on women’s rights
Securing political and financial support
Resistance from stakeholders with conflicting interests
Material conditions limit ability to participate in bigger strategic work
Different agencies may have varying priorities
Wildcards:
A major environmental disaster or climate event would highlight the urgent need for swift implementation of an action plan
Changing language and vocabulary, moving away from ‘development’
Many in the category of ‘mobility’ such that the notion of ‘migrant’ is destabilised
The lab came to a close with a POLAK activity, in which participants note their sense of agency and hope for the future of feminist foreign policy. Whilst individual agency may be minimal, the common sentiment that solidarity and collective action would have greater impact and as such address the multiplicity of challenges today and turn the future in a more hopeful direction. As one participant captured it, ‘damn the torpedoes; full steam ahead!’
