Canada's feminist foreign policy and human security compared

Bibliographic Data

ID4926931
AuthorsHeather Smith (0000-0002-0089-7407, University of Northern British Columbia, corresponding author), Tari Ajadi (Dalhousie University)
Year2020
Volume75
Issue3
Pages367-382
Publication date2020-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal Canada s Journal of Global Policy Analysis (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0020-7020 • E-ISSN: 2052-465X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0020702020954547
OpenAlexW3088337726
LanguageEN
Citations received8

Canadian federal governments regularly try to craft a unique image of Canada in the world; however, the Trudeau government's embrace of feminist foreign policy feels strikingly similar to the late 1990s when human security was embraced. There seems to be a "sameness" in the promotion of a progressive values-based discourse that has transformative potential for Canadian foreign policy. The question is, does this sense of sameness bear out when we dig into the comparison? Drawing on speeches given by government ministers; policy documents, such as the Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP); media; and scholarship, we compare and contrast analyses of the sources of the human security and feminist foreign policy discourses and then identify common critiques. We also examine two significant differences. We find there is consistent Liberal articulation of values-based discourses and policies that have unmet transformative potential. In both cases, style and rhetoric are privileged over transformative change

Articulation (sociology · Craft · Foreign policy · Human rights · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Rhetoric · Scholarship · Sociology · Transformative learning · Canadian Identity and History · Gender Politics and Representation · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Law · Public Administration

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access