In a speech on 24 February 2022, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin justified the war in Ukraine by framing it as a “defence against the West’s attempt to undermine Russia’s ‘traditional values’”. In this narrative, the devaluation and disenfranchisement of women and LGBTQI* persons play a central role: they serve as a justification for authoritarian policies internally and for wars of aggression externally – not only in Russia. The fight against the so-called “gender ideology” as an empty signifier has also been employed and utilised by right-wing nationalist, populist and anti-democratic governments, illiberal political parties, conservative think tanks, and other anti-gender actors in and from Poland, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Turkey, and many more countries. Their goal is to consolidate their power, resulting in violation of universal human rights and shrinking space for civil society. With 72 percent of the global population living in autocracies (V-Dem, 2023), better understanding the role of anti-feminist policies and strategies within authoritarian regimes and countries experiencing a decline in democracy is necessary both to advance the goal of more peaceful and just societies as well as to strengthen democratic structures and values at the national, supranational/EU, and the international levels.

This is where our report comes in. It results from a one-year-long project, supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, and builds on various conversations with a broad range of women and LGBTQI* activists who protect and advance human rights, especially women’s and LGBTQI* rights. It gives an overview of the role and functions of anti-feminist strategies and policies and their connection to the rise of authoritarianism and democratic decline, explores examples of civil society’s resistance to these developments, and provides key recommendations to countries committed to a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) on effective ways to engage with and support civil society to advance feminist policies, and strengthen democratic values and structures.