Unveiling the Liberal Conundrum: Feminist Diplomacy and Migration Regulation Policies in Europe
In early 2023, the German Federal Foreign Office published guidelines for a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP), titled "Shaping Feminist Foreign Policy: Federal Foreign Office Guidelines." The FFP aims to integrate feminist perspectives in all areas of foreign policy, promote the rights of women and girls worldwide, and combat discrimination.
However, the omission of migration and asylum politics in these guidelines has garnered criticism from the Heinrich Boell Foundation and 17 other NGOs. This omission likely reflects a tension or conflict between feminist foreign policy goals and prevailing migration control policies rather than mere oversight.
Feminist foreign policy typically emphasizes human rights, gender equality, and protection for vulnerable groups. In contrast, migration control policies often prioritize border security and restrictive asylum measures, which can disproportionately affect women and marginalized groups seeking refuge.
Germany's Feminist Foreign Policy and related commitments, such as implementing the UN Women, Peace and Security Agenda, focus strongly on women's rights, participation in peacebuilding, and combating sexual violence. However, they do not prominently address migration and asylum issues directly in the official foreign policy documents.
Meanwhile, migration control policies in Germany and the EU continue to tighten asylum procedures and introduce restrictive measures such as lists of “safe countries of origin,” which can severely limit asylum access for many vulnerable migrants, including women facing gender-based violence.
This juxtaposition suggests that integrating feminist perspectives on asylum and migration remains a complex challenge because migration controls and border policies may undermine or conflict with feminist goals of protection, empowerment, and human rights for migrant women.
Academic and policy discourse indicates a need to resolve this conflict to create a coherent feminist foreign policy that fully includes migration and asylum politics, especially given the gendered dimensions of displacement and violence.
The German government and the EU have implemented restrictive asylum politics, with proposed changes to the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) further violating access to asylum rights. The nation state paradigm has significant consequences for migrants and refugees, and it is crucial to consider these implications when shaping a feminist foreign policy.
References:
- R. Celikates, T. Eule, M. Geiger & A. Pécoud, N. Genova, U. Hemmerling, O. Joubany, J. Mertus, G. L. Neuman, N. Perkowski, and H. Schwenken.
- [1] https://www.boell.org/en/2023/02/28/feminist-foreign-policy-germany-excludes-migration-and-asylum
- [2] https://www.boell.org/en/2023/02/28/feminist-foreign-policy-germany-excludes-migration-and-asylum
- [3] https://www.boell.org/en/2023/02/28/feminist-foreign-policy-germany-excludes-migration-and-asylum
- The book "Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead" by Sheryl Sandberg is the origin of the term "lean-in feminism."
- The book "Globale Migration zur Einführung" by H. Schwenken was published in 2018.
- The Swedish government's handbook on FFP, published in 2014, served as a blueprint for similar policies that followed.
- Moral grandstanding may be a luxury not afforded to most, and only open to those who have the nationality and economic resources to effectively render the world borderless.
- The coalition government in Germany has promised a hardened stance on deportations.
- The omission of migration and asylum politics in Germany's Feminist Foreign Policy guidelines has led to criticism, indicating a potential conflict between feminist objectives and migration control policies.2.มigration control policies in Germany and the EU often prioritize border security and restrictive asylum measures, which can disproportionately affect vulnerable women and marginalized groups seeking refuge.
- Integrating feminist perspectives on asylum and migration remains a complex challenge, as these policies may undermine or conflict with feminist goals of protection, empowerment, and human rights.
- Academic and policy discourse suggest a need to resolve this conflict to create a coherent feminist foreign policy that fully includes migration and asylum politics, especially in light of the gendered dimensions of displacement and violence.
