This working paper examines how Feminist Foreign and Development Policies (FFDPs) have emerged as both a site of transformation and contention within global governance. It traces the feminist principles of equality, inclusion and the redistribution of power that these approaches seek to embed within foreign policy and development cooperation, and analyses how they are adapted, contested and advanced across the global South.

While FFDPs were initially adopted in the global North, their diffusion has intersected with diverse political, cultural and economic realities that shape their uptake and meaning. The paper explores how FFDPs influence debates on peace, security, trade and financing for development, while highlighting tensions around policy coherence and donor and recipient hierarchies.