LABMUNDO researcher publishes book on feminist foreign policy
Appris Editora is releasing Política Externa Feminista como Branding Governista: Há Congruência Entre Normas Institucionais e Práticas de Cooperação? (Feminist Foreign Policy as Government Branding: Is There Congruence Between Institutional Norms and Cooperation Practices?), a book by Labmundan political scientist Bruna Soares de Aguiar. The publication was developed from the author’s research for her PhD thesis in Political Science at the Institute of Social and Political Studies (IESP-UERJ), supervised by Prof. Enara Echart Muñoz and co-supervised by Prof. Carlos R. S. Milani, and awarded an Honourable Mention in the 12th ABRI National Competition for University Dissertations and Theses in International Relations. On 15 August 2025, in partnership with the Interdisciplinary Observatory on Climate Change (OIMC), LABMUNDO will hold a special seminar to celebrate the launch, bringing together the author, other researchers from the Laboratory and invited experts at the IESP-UERJ campus.
The first book released in Brazil on Feminist Foreign Policy, this work examines how feminisms have sometimes been instrumentalised by governments as a discursive strategy, without necessarily translating into tangible changes in international practices. Based on the International Development Cooperation agenda, the book analyses the bilateral relationship between Sweden and Bolivia as a case study, investigating to what extent the labelling of foreign policy as ‘feminist’ has influenced power dynamics in the North-South relationship. As well as contributing to the debate on the limits and potential of Feminist Foreign Policy, the book proposes an innovative analytical method, aimed at researchers interested in assessing the extent to which feminist narratives have generated effectively transformative practices in international relations.