A Stronger Europe in the World Is von der Leyen’s “Geopolitical Turn” Fostering or Hindering Gender Justice?

This chapter unpacks what the European Commission’s ambition for a “Union of Equality” means in external relations and how it interacts with the Commission’s ambition for a “geopolitical Europe” and its priority “A Stronger Europe in the World.” In this pillar, the Commission emphasizes multilateralism, the rule-based order, and a stronger and more responsible role for the EU in the world. It examines what is meant by a “stronger Europe” and the gendered implications of this particular framing for external action. It assesses how this is translated across two key external policies: the EU’s approach to Ukraine within the larger context of the Common Security and Defence Policy and the EU’s broader relations with Africa. The von der Leyen Commission’s “Union of Equality” and ambition for a stronger Europe reinforce each other due to enduring gaps between feminist aspirations and recent iterations of gender equality in the EU’s external relations.