Gender Equality in the Swedish Foreign Policy : A comparative critical discourse analysis of gender equality issues in Swedish foreign policy before and after the abolishment of the Feminist Foreign Policy in 2022

Sammanfattning

This study offers an examination on how gender equality has been constructed through government discourse in Swedish foreign policy before and after the abolition of Sweden’s Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) in 2022. The study applies Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), combining Fairclough’s three-dimensional model with Feminist Critical Discourse Analysis (FCDA) and discourse theory developed by Laclau and Mouffe. The empirical material consists of four Statements of Government Policy and two official government strategies on gender equality in development cooperation. The findings indicate both continuity and change in the discourse on gender equality over time. Before 2022 gender equality was explicitly constructed as a prerequisite for sustainable development. After 2022, it became more integrated into broader policy goals related to security, conflict, and democratic decline. Furthermore, women and women’s organisations were more often portrayed as central and active agents of change during the FFP, whereas the discourse after 2022 placed greater emphasis on vulnerability, protection, and support. In both periods, gender equality is linked to human rights, development, democracy, and peace and security, and is constructed both as an intrinsic value and as a means of achieving broader societal goals. Although reports from NGOs point to a decline in financial support for gender equality, a rather stable discourse on gender equality could be identified over time. Future research could therefore examine what may be a gap between the existing discourse on gender equality and the practical implementation of gender equality policies.