Interview with María Solanas, Programs Director, Real Instituto Elcano, ahead of the 5th ministerial conference on feminist foreign policies

Published on 28/05/2026.

Against an international backdrop marked by geopolitical tensions and a rise in violations of women’s rights, María Solanas analyzes the challenges facing feminist foreign policy today, as well as the tools needed to strengthen the “Women, Peace, and Security” agenda.

Interview with María Solanas, Programs Director, Real Instituto Elcano

Focus 2030 : Spain has recently strengthened its commitment to a feminist foreign policy through the adoption of its new Feminist Cooperation Strategy and its National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2025–2030. In an international context marked by escalating conflicts and increasing attacks on women’s rights, what priorities should currently guide the articulation between feminist foreign policy (FFP) and the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda? And what specific expectations do you have of governments and multilateral spaces in advancing this agenda?

María Solanas : Although the link between global peace and security and the equitable, full, and meaningful participation of women is strongly supported by empirical evidence, the data show a regression. The articulation between FFP and the WPS agenda must prioritize, first and foremost, women’s substantive participation, not simply “counting” women at negotiation tables but ensuring that they are able to make a substantial contribution, by promoting their political and economic empowerment and helping to strengthen and consolidate the position of women leaders in local contexts. The WPS agenda should therefore translate into women occupying leadership positions (mediators, heads of mission) in peace processes, rather than being confined solely to gender advisory roles.

A second priority concerns the vision of security. FFP and the WPS agenda share an understanding of security that goes beyond defense, is not limited to the absence of war, and places particular emphasis on conflict prevention.

The Women, Peace, Security agenda is neither accessory nor sectoral; it must be placed at the center of feminist foreign policy.

The fight against gender-based violence and conflict-related sexual violence, together with the protection of sexual and reproductive rights, is a priority for both FFP and the WPS agenda.

Political and economic empowerment, the promotion and consolidation of local leadership, substantive participation in conflict prevention and peace processes, the fight against gender-based violence and sexual violence used as a weapon of war, and guaranteeing women’s sexual and reproductive rights are all priorities that connect FFP and the WPS agenda.

Expectations are not homogeneous and may even diverge. Countries that have adopted FFP are particularly important in advancing the WPS agenda. In several countries, including Spain, FFP seeks to transform the power structures that perpetuate inequality. To the extent that FFP achieves its objectives, the WPS agenda will be effectively implemented on the ground. In the current context of setbacks, it is necessary to move beyond political will alone by making concrete and specific commitments. Multilateral organizations that affirm gender equality as a fundamental objective and/or value (United Nations, NATO, EU, etc.) also bear increased responsibility regarding the WPS agenda.

In a context of geopolitical tensions and regression in gender equality agendas, support for the WPS agenda faces greater challenges. Concrete commitments are needed in terms of resources, political backing, and quotas: flexible and predictable multi-year funding, political and diplomatic support for local leadership and women’s organizations; going beyond current recommendations in multilateral peace missions by establishing gender parity quotas among deployed personnel and mandatory training on the prevention of sexual violence, among other measures. Local action with specific, impactful measures is essential.

Focus 2030 : In your analysis “Feminist Foreign Policy in a Transforming World Order,” you argue that the current geopolitical context is weakening feminist foreign policies and encouraging a return to more security-focused and transactional approaches to international relations. Given these developments, how can feminist foreign policy avoid becoming merely symbolic? What political or institutional levers do you consider essential today to ensure its tangible impact?

María Solanas : FFP is conceived as a necessary step forward in response to the global prevalence of gender inequality. It would mean intensifying efforts to close gaps and raising the level of commitment. It is therefore essential that it not be merely declarative, as this would be counterproductive and would encourage arguments that question or minimize it. FFP faces several challenges. First, the structural resistance that persists in all societies. The social transformation required to overcome deeply rooted gender systems means challenging traditional power dynamics. In addition, today’s international environment, which is strongly geopolitical and also characterized by the rise of anti-gender movements, poses a direct obstacle to the advancement and consolidation of FFP.

If it aims to have an impact, FFP must include defined strategies, timelines for achieving them, human and financial resources, and responsible actors. It requires ownership by those tasked with implementing it within public administration, which means ensuring specialized training, and it also requires the involvement of multiple government actors beyond Ministries of Foreign Affairs, as well as civil society.

To avoid mere symbolism, FFP must integrate a gender perspective into all phases of foreign policy, so that an internal cultural shift gradually takes place within the foreign service. As a policy still under construction, FFP requires a sustained and ongoing effort to provide those responsible for applying it with all the tools needed for its operationalization and effective implementation.

Among the political levers, I would highlight how, in a context of transformation of the world order, the idea has begun to be emphasized more explicitly that FFP is embedded in a commitment to human rights, international law, and the strengthening of the multilateral system, as well as in the view that gender equality is not an isolated idea but part of the integrated norms of gender, democracy, and liberal modernity. In this sense, gender-based threats are also deliberate threats to democracy.

Civil society organizations, including academia, think tanks, and the private sector, and their networks are important levers. Their contribution in terms of knowledge, their ability to mobilize actors, develop strategies, build alliances, propose concrete actions, and amplify this policy is significant.

Current and future challenges, threats to national and global security, including violent radicalization and terrorism, climate change and the energy transition, digitalization, polarization, and the resilience of democracies, require an understanding of the gender dimension in order to provide more effective foreign policy responses. A feminist foreign policy has better tools to analyze these implications, while also carrying a transformative ambition to address structural inequality.

Focus 2030 : Given that this Fifth Conference on Feminist Foreign Policies is taking place in a particularly polarized international context, what are your expectations for this edition? How can the Spanish government play a leadership role in strengthening international coalitions in support of gender equality and women’s rights?

María Solanas : This conference is taking place at a key moment and in a highly complex context. It aims to underscore the link between women’s rights and democracy, and between both and peace, within a changing international framework that is exploring how to lay new foundations for a more effective, inclusive, and legitimate global order. It represents a clearer focus in terms of the issues to be addressed compared with previous conferences. It makes explicit the diverse participation of countries that, while not having adopted a feminist foreign policy, have a particular commitment to gender equality agendas internationally. It emphasizes the presence of both the Global North and the Global South. It will analyze progress since the first conference in Berlin, but also the challenges facing FFP.

It offers a clear counterweight to narratives that question women’s rights and could project the image of a “majority” coalition committed to the equality agenda, and democracy, contrasted with the idea of a “minority” opposed to that agenda, linked to illiberal drift and democratic erosion.

By projecting the strength and specific weight of a broad group of countries, international organizations, and civil society actors, in contrast to a globally organized anti-feminist and anti-gender movement, it should emphasize unanimous support for the election of a woman as Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The conference will close with the signing of a political declaration and the announcement of new political and financial commitments, whose follow-up will be carried out through a permanent accountability mechanism. Concrete commitments are expected in terms of resources, political support for women’s organizations, sexual and reproductive rights, and women’s participation in peace processes. All of this would help move beyond the merely declarative and support real and effective implementation and accountability.

For several countries, adopting a feminist foreign policy helps consolidate their international profile, country image, and leadership on the global stage. In Spain’s case, the adoption of FFP has highlighted its commitment to gender equality and strengthened its leadership in multilateral forums. Having hosted the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Seville, and having approved the Feminist Cooperation Strategy as well as the Third National Action Plan on WPS 2025–2030, Spain is in an excellent position to promote the integration of a gender perspective into the multilateral financial architecture, while also leading by example through its support for grassroots feminist and women’s organizations.

Spain could also project its vision of security, one that goes beyond defense and is firmly grounded in the pillars of the Women, Peace and Security agenda, in key spaces with the EU and NATO, as well as in organizations of the multilateral system.

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