Making Feminist Foreign Policy Work for Africa

The document examines Germany's transition toward a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) and the 2023 BMZ Africa Strategy, 'Shaping the Future with Africa'. While it acknowledges the shift toward 'respect and reciprocity' and the alignment with Africa's Agenda 2063, the author argues that the feminist approach is currently too limited to international development. The brief suggests that for FFP to be truly transformative, it must be integrated into peace and security, trade (specifically the care economy), climate change (integrating indigenous knowledge), and migration policy, while consistently tackling the structural impacts of racism and colonialism.

• Germany's new Africa Strategy, 'Shaping the Future with Africa' (January 2023), aligns with the African Union's Agenda 2063 and emphasizes solidarity and equal cooperation over imposition.
• The German approach to Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) is currently inconsistent because feminist principles are primarily applied to international development cooperation rather than being embedded across all foreign policy areas like trade, security, and climate change.
• The BMZ's feminist international development policy explicitly aims to address structural inequalities, including the avoidance of 'racist structures and post-colonial continuities' and the protection of marginalized groups such as LGBTQI+ individuals and indigenous communities.
• In the realm of peace and security, the document argues that Germany should move beyond formal structures like FemWise-Africa to support feminist-led civil society organizations that can reach the most marginalized, including queer Africans.
• The brief identifies a gap in Germany's economic strategy toward Africa, noting that while it promotes digital and green economies, it ignores the 'care economy'—the unpaid care work primarily performed by poor women—which is essential for just social protection.
• Regarding climate change, the author critiques the 'masculinist protector' role adopted by Germany and argues for a transition that integrates indigenous knowledges and practices rather than just acknowledging indigenous rights.

APA

Haastrup, T. (2023). Making Feminist Foreign Policy Work for Africa. Africa Policy Research Institute. https://afripoli.org/making-feminist-foreign-policy-work-for-africa

Chicago

Haastrup, Toni. Making Feminist Foreign Policy Work for Africa. Africa Policy Research Institute, 2023. https://afripoli.org/making-feminist-foreign-policy-work-for-africa.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Haastrup |first1=Toni |title=Making Feminist Foreign Policy Work for Africa |publisher=Africa Policy Research Institute |date=18 April 2023 |url=https://afripoli.org/making-feminist-foreign-policy-work-for-africa |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{haastrup2023making, author = {Haastrup, Toni}, title = {{Making Feminist Foreign Policy Work for Africa}}, institution = {Africa Policy Research Institute}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://afripoli.org/making-feminist-foreign-policy-work-for-africa}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }