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Simply a label? An analysis of Mexico's Feminist Foreign Policy

Tiselius, Anna LU (2025) STVM25 20242
Department of Political Science
Abstract
Despite Mexico having a poor reputation when it comes to women’s rights domestically, the country adopted a feminist foreign policy in 2020. First introduced by Sweden in 2014, the intent and results of feminist foreign policies have been widely questioned. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effect of Mexico’s adoption of a feminist foreign policy. To do so, Mexican statements to the United Nations are analyzed from before the adoption of the policy. The statements are then compared to those made after the adoption, with the timeframe being 2016-2024. The analysis draws on feminist international relations theory and feminist foreign policy analysis. Using content analysis, the statements are coded into categories to evaluate the... (More)
Despite Mexico having a poor reputation when it comes to women’s rights domestically, the country adopted a feminist foreign policy in 2020. First introduced by Sweden in 2014, the intent and results of feminist foreign policies have been widely questioned. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effect of Mexico’s adoption of a feminist foreign policy. To do so, Mexican statements to the United Nations are analyzed from before the adoption of the policy. The statements are then compared to those made after the adoption, with the timeframe being 2016-2024. The analysis draws on feminist international relations theory and feminist foreign policy analysis. Using content analysis, the statements are coded into categories to evaluate the type of approach taken: gender-blind, essentialist, liberal, or transformationalist.
The statements evolved, but differently depending on context. The position papers analyzed became more transformationalist for each year after 2020, especially with regards to ‘traditional’ gender issues. However, statements from the Security Council as well as the presidential speeches became more gender-blind. The thesis concludes that if the feminist foreign policy affected Mexican foreign policy, it mostly affected their intended policy, i.e. their position papers. Traces of the policy could not be observed in their ‘actions’ (the statements made in debates) but only in their intents (the position papers), thus bringing into question if the Mexican feminist foreign policy is indeed only a label. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Tiselius, Anna LU
supervisor
organization
course
STVM25 20242
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Feminist foreign policy, foreign policy analysis, Mexico, Feminism
language
English
id
9179233
date added to LUP
2025-03-04 11:56:53
date last changed
2025-03-04 11:56:53
@misc{9179233,
  abstract     = {{Despite Mexico having a poor reputation when it comes to women’s rights domestically, the country adopted a feminist foreign policy in 2020. First introduced by Sweden in 2014, the intent and results of feminist foreign policies have been widely questioned. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the effect of Mexico’s adoption of a feminist foreign policy. To do so, Mexican statements to the United Nations are analyzed from before the adoption of the policy. The statements are then compared to those made after the adoption, with the timeframe being 2016-2024. The analysis draws on feminist international relations theory and feminist foreign policy analysis. Using content analysis, the statements are coded into categories to evaluate the type of approach taken: gender-blind, essentialist, liberal, or transformationalist. 
The statements evolved, but differently depending on context. The position papers analyzed became more transformationalist for each year after 2020, especially with regards to ‘traditional’ gender issues. However, statements from the Security Council as well as the presidential speeches became more gender-blind. The thesis concludes that if the feminist foreign policy affected Mexican foreign policy, it mostly affected their intended policy, i.e. their position papers. Traces of the policy could not be observed in their ‘actions’ (the statements made in debates) but only in their intents (the position papers), thus bringing into question if the Mexican feminist foreign policy is indeed only a label.}},
  author       = {{Tiselius, Anna}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Simply a label? An analysis of Mexico's Feminist Foreign Policy}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}