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📝 Notes from the Field #1
@balnik.bsky.social & Younna Christiansen examine how FFP shapes donor funding + peacebuilding dynamics.
🔗 www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

💥 Explore the full Special Section #FeministForeignPolicy in @politicsgenderj.bsky.social. Thanks to all contributors! @tonihaastrup.bsky.social @thomsonjennifer.bsky.social @nwelfens.bsky.social @karolinefaerber.bsky.social @erdfraeuleinma.bsky.social @balnik.bsky.social @hlmuehlenhoff.bsky.social

Ist das bei Bonanza?

www.zdf.de/play/magazin...

3️⃣ Ukraine has agency! Friday suggested otherwise, but Ukraine is not powerless. The challenges that Ukraine faces are tremendous, but Ukraine and Europe do have leverage in the conflict. Me must use it!

… bringing kidnapped children and people with disabilities back to Ukraine and much more. It won’t be easy to get these concessions, especially not in early negotiation rounds. But we must stay persistent!

… to support people in ceased territories. Future negotiations should include discussions on safe evacuation routes for civilians, secure border crossings (with provisions to prevent sexual harassment, as we have seen before), possibilities for people to access Ukrainian media, …

2️⃣ Kyiv is interested in a ceasefire, but aware of the humanitarian costs of it. Any ceasefire would de facto cement Russian occupation with all of its negative effects. We might be forced to accept this amid a lack of alternatives, but we MUST also start to think creatively about opportunities …

1️⃣ The exclusion of Ukraine on Friday made it look like we are witnessing a proxy war. This is WRONG. Big power competition is one piece of the political puzzle of this conflict, but the decisive one is Russia’s imperial obsession with Ukraine. We must not forget this to understand Russian action!

This is what @anneapplebaum.bsky.social means when she writes about ‘Autocracy Inc’

Spannend! Das gibt es dann hoffentlich irgendwo zum Nachlesen?

Now also available in English: gppi.net/2025/06/26/n...

Perhaps interesting for you, @christinecheng.bsky.social, @svencho.bsky.social, @frankstengel.bsky.social, @atrwibben.bsky.social, @karolinefaerber.bsky.social @bmittelhammer.bsky.social, @juliafriedrich.bsky.social @stellavoutta.bsky.social, @leoniestamm.bsky.social, @verabenatar.bsky.social

👀 The article is a part of a @politicsgenderj.bsky.social special issue on Feminist Foreign Policy curated by Professor @tonihaastrup.bsky.social, @thomsonjennifer.bsky.social and @columbaachilleos.bsky.social. Stay tuned for the whole special issue in autumn.

What is needed: a mix of technocratic fixes to existing funding structures and contestation of the knowledge and norms within donor institutions that continue to sideline feminist action for peace.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Some bright spots: feminist intermediaries (e.g., Equality Fund, FRIDA, Innovative Peace Fund) distribute funds to feminist peacebuilders with greater trust & flexibility.

⚠️ However, they can only absorb the burden of a system that resists reform.

Donor-impelenter relations are challenging for all local peacebuilders, but feminists often face additional difficulties:

🚫 Legal barriers (esp. for LGBTQ+ orgs)
⚔️ Hostile political environments
📋 Rigid donor rules that exclude rather than adapt

Donors often treat feminist work as “add-ons.” Efforts to transform masculinities or support inclusive peace processes aren’t seen as core to peacebuilding, despite tackling root causes of violence.

FFPs promise transformation, but peacebuilding remains Western-led, donor-driven, and structurally resistant to feminist approaches.

⚠️ So far, good intentions haven’t shifted power.