Feminist Foreign Policy from the Semi-Periphery – Critical Perspective

Informed by emerging feminist security and development studies and the semi-periphery theory of Marina Blagojević Hughson, the paper will examine how feminist foreign policy (FFP) influences policy framing in the Western Balkans and Serbia, in particular. It will explore FFP - the new buzzword in the gendered international development and security field - from a semi-peripheral “bottom-up” perspective. Blagojević Hughson defines semi-periphery as the ambiguous space between the centre (Global North) and the periphery (Global South), with characteristics of both. It does not necessarily mean explicit geographical areas (e.g., Eastern, Central Eastern or South Eastern Europe). Still, the structural specificity of a particular region (e.g., post-socialist, post-conflict, transitional economies) must be considered. In that sense, the Western Balkans region (geopolitical term including ex-Yugoslav countries plus Albania, minus Slovenia and Croatia), for example, is perceived as “too white”, too industrial, and too developed to be part of decolonisation conversations and efforts of the global South or even Central Asia, for that matter. At the same time, it is not part of the Global North, constantly measuring itself in relation to the centre’s moving target(s) (e.g., the EU accession, neoliberal economic reforms, or gender equality policies). The result is the endless effort of “catching up” with the core (e.g., the Gender Equality Index) that influences framing development, security and gender policies. More precisely, the paper will focus on the translation of feminist foreign policy and its impact from a semi-peripheral perspective. Looking at the examples of bilateral aid in the Western Balkans, such as Swedish SIDA or German GIZ, the paper critically examines FFP from four viewpoints: how FFP responds to the main challenges of regional security and peace (e.g., Serbia-Kosovo negotiations, transitional justice and reconciliation policies), how FFP influences the funding for development from an intersectional and feminist perspective and what role international organisations play in the equations, and lastly, how FFP supports bridging the economic gap between the semi-periphery and core.