Greening our Foreign Policy: Of Visions, Principles and Contradictions

The document defines a Green foreign policy as a holistic approach that prioritizes human rights, democracy, and environmental sustainability over narrow economic interests. It advocates for the reform of international organizations like the UN and the Bretton Woods Institutions to increase transparency and representation for the Global South. The framework emphasizes the strengthening of international law, specifically the International Criminal Court, and supports restrictive weapons export policies and UN-mandated military interventions. It also calls for a development agenda that links environmental sustainability with social inclusion and conflict prevention through the 'Responsibilities to Protect' (R2P) framework.

• A Green foreign policy is built on a normative framework that supports popular movements and 'agents of change' advocating for gender equality, democracy, and human rights globally.
• The Green movement advocates for the reform of international organizations to address democratic deficits and reflect current global power dynamics, including proposals to reform the UN Security Council by abolishing the veto power of the most powerful nations or introducing regional seats.
• Green foreign policy promotes a trade and finance regime based on social and environmental standards, opposing arrangements like Investor State Dispute Settlement that prioritize multinational companies over the sovereignty of democratically elected bodies.
• There is a strong emphasis on strengthening the International Criminal Court (ICC) and urging non-signatory states, including the U.S., Russia, China, and Israel, to ratify the Rome Statute to combat impunity for grave human rights violations.
• The Green position on military intervention is highly contested, but the common denominator is the requirement for a UN mandate and a broader political strategy to address conflict, rejecting interventions by single states or 'coalitions of the willing'.
• To prevent mass atrocities and instability, the document supports the 'Responsibilities to Protect' (R2P) Pillar II, emphasizing preventative diplomacy and capacity building, and argues that development assistance must integrate environmental sustainability and social inclusion.

APA

Beck, C. (2015). Greening our Foreign Policy: Of Visions, Principles and Contradictions. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/greening-our-foreign-policy-of-visions-principles-and-contradictions/

Chicago

Beck, Charlotte. Greening our Foreign Policy: Of Visions, Principles and Contradictions. Green European Journal, 2015. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/greening-our-foreign-policy-of-visions-principles-and-contradictions/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Beck |first1=Charlotte |title=Greening our Foreign Policy: Of Visions, Principles and Contradictions |publisher=Green European Journal |date=1 March 2015 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/greening-our-foreign-policy-of-visions-principles-and-contradictions/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{beck2015greening, author = {Beck, Charlotte}, title = {{Greening our Foreign Policy: Of Visions, Principles and Contradictions}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2015}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/greening-our-foreign-policy-of-visions-principles-and-contradictions/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }