Diplomacy as a field is characterized by the continuities and changes of its norms and practices. The last century, in particular, has been a century of major changes that have affected diplomacy in practice and in discipline. One of them is certainly the growing number of women working in diplomacy. In this thesis, we use the analysis of survey responses of diplomatic personnel working at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and comparative analysis of literature to examine the extent to which gendered practices and gender regimes are reflected in the field of diplomacy, and the extent to which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has changed towards gender equality. Using Bourdeuian and feminist approaches and methodologies, we analyze the normative shift from institutional neutrality and gender blindness to the institutionalization of gender equality as a norm in diplomacy through a case study of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the context of increasing neoliberalism, we assess the limits of current gender equality policies and search for new concepts of justice.
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