Introduction: Energy and Resistance in/to ‘Feminist’ Foreign Policy - Columba Achilleos-Sarll, Toni Haastrup and Jennifer Thomson

Just over a decade after the first feminist foreign policy (FFP) was adopted by Sweden in 2014, a wealth of related research, policy, and advocacy has emerged. This Introduction takes stock of these developments, tracing key trajectories in both scholarship and practice, while also reflecting on the broader implications of these developments on our current moment in global politics. First, the Introduction outlines the emergence of FFP as a distinct object of analysis, highlights the landmarks that have shaped the field, and situates FFP within the context of the anti-gender and anti-feminist global backlash. Second, it maps different strands in the literature, with particular attention to newer themes and actors. While early research focused largely on the FFPs of Sweden and Canada, often adopting a liberal and celebratory orientation, recently, critical feminist perspectives informed by intersectionality, postcolonial, and decolonial approaches, have expanded the field, extending analysis to policy domains such as the environment and migration, among others. It also examines contestations in FFP praxis, including their implications for knowledge production. Finally, the Introduction summarizes the contributions of each chapter in the collection and how they collectively expand the FFP field.