Polarisation versus Convergence: Senior Female Diplomats’ Views on Feminism, Religion and Women’s Rights in US Foreign Policy

Abstract

This article is among the first to probe the views of seven women who held foreign policy cabinet positions in Democratic and Republican administrations in the United States between 1981 and 2018. Grounded in debates over a polarising ‘culture war’ versus converging social attitudes, the study uses autobiographical sources to gauge cross-party differences over time in leaders’ understandings of feminism and anti-feminism, levels of secularism and religious orthodoxy, and views of women’s rights in foreign policy. The study also examines questions of intersectionality, notably whether appointees from racial minority backgrounds expressed distinctively transformative views about inequality and discrimination. The findings confirm left/right polarisation arguments with respect to attitudes towards women’s movements but show that nominees, regardless of party or racial background, were deeply committed to liberal individualism. The conclusion discusses the implications of these results and proposes directions for further research.