Navigating Fault Lines From Asia to the Indo-Pacific in Brief With Ambika Vishwanath, Co-Founder of the Kubernein Initiative

9DASHLINE recently had the chance to catch up with Ambika Vishwanath, co-founder and director of the Kubernein Initiative, one of our key partner organisations.

Here, we share some of the highlights from our conversation which touched on a range of issues including feminist foreign policy, India-Germany relations, and climate security.

9DL: You, as well as your organisation, the Kubernein Initiative, are big champions of feminist foreign policy. What exactly does this entail, beyond making women more visible in decision-making? 

AV: When Margot Wallstrom, former foreign minister of Sweden, advocated for a feminist foreign policy, she pushed for three things to begin with: rights, representation, and resources. All three are fundamental in dealing with policy-making, either domestically or internationally. She did not envision these as end goals, and neither do we. Yes, it’s about rights and representation, but it’s also about agency to be decision-makers. More importantly, it’s about creating structural and systemic change. It’s not about men versus women — since women and other sections of society have not been fairly represented, it’s about creating a system that allows for diverse voices to be heard so that, ultimately, everyone benefits.

9DL: Over the past decade, a growing number of countries have expressed support for feminist foreign policy. In your view, has there been meaningful progress in addressing gender inequality and women’s rights? Who are the leaders in this regard?

AV: Yes and no. Countries are taking different approaches to this, either through their National Action Plans (NAPs) on the UN Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, or by addressing inequalities through domestic means without a NAP, or by going further and creating broader systems of change by adopting a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP). According to the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA), the first five national FFPs (in Canada, France, Luxembourg, Mexico, and Sweden) all came as a surprise and resulted from a window of opportunity presented by progressive political leaders. In addition to political commitment at a high level, a positive political climate, the personal values of political leaders, and a suitable moment for the announcement also played a key role in encouraging growing interest from other countries — which we have also been tracking here in India, where the Kubernein Initiative is based.

The Canadian Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) couched itself in a commitment to rights and married its launch to a budget proposal that put new resources on the table for Official Development Assistance, bringing overall aid levels up and embracing a benchmark of committing 95 per cent of its foreign assistance to gender equality as a principal goal. This is a significant increase and while (realistically) implementation will take time, it’s an important marker and signal of commitment. With a total of 92 per cent of aid now gender-focused, Canada is the world leader in these OECD rankings, indicating the promising implementation of the FIAP and providing accountability to the government’s funding targets.

Germany, on the other hand, went a completely different route, by initially looking at implementation within the Foreign Ministry, and then following up with Whole-of-Government Guidelines (announced on 1 March), which are guidelines that were put together after incredibly extensive consultations.

Another example: 56 per cent of the Mexican Foreign Service staff was made up of women in 2022 and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs resolved to increase the number of female diplomats in senior positions. As a rising influence on the world stage and a strong middle power, Mexico’s new feminist foreign policy approach has already been put into action over the past year and countries in South America are following its lead.

At the Munich Security Conference (MSC) in 2023, I also heard from the President of Kosovo [Vjosa Osmani] about some of the strides they are making within their WPS programmes to decrease inequality and make structural changes in a post-conflict scenario.

Many countries like India do not have FFPs but bring a strong gender lens to various foreign policies, aid and assistance, climate, and other commitments. This is an important step that needs to be built on. I don’t think any one country is a leader per se, but many offer experiences and examples that others can learn from. I also don’t think that any one country can be the sole ‘leader’ because domestic and non-domestic realities are different. But countries can take the lead in pushing for meaningful change, and in this way, I see the work by Mexico, Germany, Australia, and Canada as especially significant. This is why the ideals of FFP become important, because they form not a rigid structure but a pathway for people and countries.

9DL: There are no standard guidelines on how to develop feminist foreign policy, and various countries have adopted different approaches including National Action Plans (NAPs) on women, Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) action plans, and foreign policy gender strategies. What is the most effective way to mainstream a gender perspective in all foreign policy actions and hold governments accountable to their commitments?

AV: There is no single effective way to make this work. At a very fundamental level, feminist or inclusive foreign policy is about creating a system that allows for a diverse set of voices to be heard in thinking, designing, and implementing policies. For that, countries need to create frameworks and guidelines that are best suited to their realities. They may borrow and learn from others, but there cannot be a one-size-fits-all blueprint. What works for Germany or Canada cannot necessarily work for India or Brazil. However, their methodologies for approaching the ideation of their guidelines are still useful to study.

Several organisations, including mine but also the Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy (CFFP), the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), and the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA), have put together some fantastic handbooks that are also worth looking into. But countries need to determine what will work for them and offer their own experiences to others, even if they are not in the ‘FFP group’. India is well positioned in that regard and has a lot of insights to offer from its foreign policy and development aid policies. Ultimately, I see an inclusive foreign policy in India or elsewhere as institutions having guidelines and principles that allow all rights to be systematically implemented and all inequalities addressed — this cannot rest on the person but on the office.

9DL: Climate change and security is another area you emphasise in your work. What would having a feminist foreign policy approach to managing climate change entail? What kinds of concerns and solutions might this approach shed light on that we might otherwise miss?

AV: At the United Nations Climate Change Conference in December 2019 (COP25) and again last year in 2022 (COP27), Mexico displayed strong leadership and initiative in mobilising parties to commit to gender equality and was unwavering in its efforts to ensure the issue’s inclusion in the talks and subsequent agreements. Climate change is about human security; it is about life and livelihoods, health, and basic dignity. This is no longer an emerging issue — it is here and now. Countries need to rethink the concept of security to include the cascading effects of climate change and the FFP approach allows for that broader change in thinking. An FFP approach that demands a more inclusive approach forces us to consider risks that we might not think of and helps us be better prepared. But FFP is not a solution for all that ails us, and, as a new approach, it also needs to be constantly reviewed and adjusted.

9DL: The EU generally, and Germany specifically, seem to be investing more in ties with India. How does New Delhi see Berlin in terms of security cooperation with the EU/European states? Did the ‘Zeitenwende’ have any effect on Germany’s reputation concerning security politics? Or do Indian policymakers still prefer to turn to more ‘traditionally’ active European states like France or Great Britain when it comes to security cooperation?

AV: Although India’s relationships with the EU and Germany have always been very good, they have tended to be limited in scope. In recent years, however, there has been more of a push to really understand the other more deeply, with a number of programmes focusing on increasing research and analysis. Kubernein’s ongoing research, including a policy brief released earlier this year, details some of the changes taking place at the government level in new and emerging areas, such as joint efforts in development assistance in Africa and in climate talks, as well as in the academic space and track-two diplomacy efforts.

I also see more effort in Germany to appreciate India’s view from the perspective of our realities and not just from a ‘Western’ lens. Indian policymakers do still turn to more traditional allies in Europe, but I see that changing within the next few years as the relationship with Berlin deepens. There is a lot of potential in what we can do both bilaterally and within smaller multilateral groupings, especially in tackling climate change and trade-related issues. Germany, as well as other emerging European partners such as the Nordic countries, are starting to recognise that India has a different perspective to offer that is valuable.

However, I think change will be much slower than desirable. The understanding of the risks and long-term cascading effects of climate change for South Asia and what this might mean for regional security, as well as global geopolitics, still remains quite narrow. The worldview in Europe is also narrow in many circles. Granted, the war in Ukraine is currently occupying policymakers, but Europe also needs to be thinking of the post-war period and how it will transition back to being a serious security player that no longer hinges on past formats and the long shadow of colonialism.

DISCLAIMER: All views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of the 9DASHLINE.com platform.

This interview was originally published by 9Dashline, in March 2023.