Debating Feminist Foreign Policy: The Formation of (Unintended) Publics in Sweden’s Public Diplomacy

Investigating how publics form, this study aims to develop an understanding of how publics of Sweden’s feminist foreign policy are constructed in public diplomacy discourse. To this end, the study conceptualizes publics as forming around perceptions of foreign policy that are mediated through public diplomacy events. Based on a debate on Sweden’s feminist foreign policy on the digital platform Reddit, the research suggests three features of publics that become visible in the formation process. These are 1) relationality, 2) performance of meaning, and 3) temporariness in the form of shifting views. The study thus argues that the formation of publics in public diplomacy is highly context-dependent, and that also “unintended” publics are important for the enactment of public diplomacy. The study contributes to a practice focused and more inclusive approach to publics in public diplomacy.