Description
This thesis examines both the rhetoric and policy priorities of the United States Department of State under Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton. Through speech analysis of five speeches, as well as an examination of Department of State budgets and policy initiatives, this project seeks to understand to what extent Secretary Clinton has been able to institutionalize a gendered perspective within the Department of State and how she explains its importance. Utilizing development studies literature, I evaluate the extent to which Secretary Clinton has employed a feminist development model in Department of State programs directed towards women and girls in the Global South. I argue that Secretary Clinton employs traditional narratives of women's empowerment that stress paid employment and the role of women in contributing to global security. I found the language and priorities of the Department of State's budgets and policy initiatives to be more nuanced. Ultimately, however, the Department of State has targeted women in its foreign policy in an effort to support and maintain United States imperialism.
