'Progressive' Foreign Policies: A Postcolonial Feminist Analysis of Policies of the Global North and India

Abstract

Progressive foreign policies support the improvement of social conditions. They are reflected in the ways states represent and portray progressive values in their conduct of foreign policy. This thesis focusses on two such progressive foreign policies that have developed in International Relations. Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) as an approach prioritises gender equality in foreign policy and was initially developed by the Global North. Some feminist scholars suggest that FFP is a novel approach that spotlights women and their issues in a traditionally masculine field. Similarly, in the context of a Global South country, India, another type of progressive foreign policy takes shape: that of postcolonialism. India's foreign policy advocates for eradicating racism and supports self-determination. However, critics suggest that Global North FFPs reinforce power inequalities, and that Indian foreign policy is lacking in its approach to gender. In this context, postcolonial feminist theory offers a framework for scrutinising these progressive foreign policies. This thesis first explores how postcolonial feminism engages with Global North FFPs and conducts a critical cartography to flesh out these critiques. It then critically investigates India's postcolonial foreign policy, using Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis of its foreign policy at the United Nations Security Council. In doing so, it not only reveals the gendered, racial and colonial hierarchies in both these foreign policies, but also finds that despite claims to feminism and postcoloniality, there are limits and vulnerabilities to progressive foreign policies. This research contributes original work to the critical turn in Feminist International Relations.