Biden Administration’s Gender Agenda in the U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East and North Africa

Abstract

The paper explores gender equality policy as one of the priorities of the U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa region. The author conducts the analysis of the US normative mechanisms to support women’s rights, as well as the first in the history of the USA “National Strategy of Gender Equality and Equity” as a tool to promote the American standards of gender equality in the regions of the US geopolitical interests on the example of the Middle East. The author considers contradictions between the objectives of the society’s democratic development, the implementation of gender equality principles in public policy, and the specific features of the traditional lifestyles in the Middle East and North Africa. Particular attention is paid to the analysis of the role of women’s empowerment agenda in the foreign policy of Biden’s administration in this region. The paper proves that the promotion of gender equality ideas has become the priority trend in the US foreign policy.