Understanding of feminism in the Global South and the Global North context : A comparative discourse analysis of feminism in Chile's and Germany's Feminist Foreign Policy

Feminist foreign policy (FFP) started off as a Western-led initiative but has in recent years gained prominence in countries of the Global South. There is no universally agreed upon definition on what feminist foreign policy is or what it should entail. Consequently, states have adopted FFP with varying interpretations of feminism. Previous research has identified indications of a contrast between some countries in the Global South and the Global North, suggesting that the Global North may lean more towards liberal feminism, while the Global South may be more inclined to integrate aspects of intersectional feminism. To examine this pattern further, this study conductaed a comparative case study with one case from each region. Germany and Chile were chosen as they are two relatively understudies cases. The study employed discourse analysis combined with ideal type analysis to examine the feminist understanding within respective FFP. The ideal types consisted of Western liberal feminist discourse and postcoionial and intersectional feminist discourse. The study found that neither of the cases could be exclusively placed in one ideal type. However, the predominant discourse manifesting in Chile's FFP was Western liberal feminist discourse and in Germany's case it was postcolonial and intersectional feminist discourse.