Over the last decade, more than a dozen countries have laid claim to feminist foreign policies (FFPs), marking a notable shift in rhetoric and attitudes towards gender, feminism and foreign policy objectives in international forums. Many such policies are focused on international assistance over other realms of foreign policy, and of these, Canada and Germany are amongst the most prominent humanitarian donors.
This study forms part of a two-year research project examining the role of narratives – that is, prescriptive stories like FFP that motivate spending and decision-making – in humanitarian policy and practice. The study is based on a literature review and 17 semi-structured interviews with a sample of government and civil society actors in both countries.