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Pernicious polarization is an antagonistic Us versus Them division, where the other group is perceived as an existential threat. It is often intertwined with the erosion of democratic norms and institutions. Although studies on polarization abound, there are still some blind spots to be filled. Our contribution is the focus on the mesolevel of civil society and the theoretical development of (de)polarization mechanisms at this level. Empirically, we study think tanks, a special type of civil society organization, in the context of democratic backsliding in Hungary and Poland. The analysis is based on 53 interviews with Hungarian and Polish think tankers conducted between 2020 and 2022. We contend that through a shift in perceptions of Us, Them, and the middle ground, think tanks contribute to both polarization and depolarization. Rather than being passive receptors of polarization dynamics, we showcase think tanks' agentic roles as they emerge through these three mechanisms and through think tanks resorting to specific patterns of discourse and interactions.

Abstract
In 2022, Sweden retracted its feminist foreign policy (FFP). What are the consequences for Swedish foreign policy and for FFPs elsewhere? We published an extensive report on the Swedish FFP in 2023, based on a survey that went out to all Swedish diplomats, interviews with more than 30 key foreign policy officials, and hundreds of steering documents from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. The article draws out new insights from the report. The retraction is likely to result in a deprioritization of gender equality in Swedish foreign policy. Sweden will likely lose its international leadership role on gender issues. However, FFPs may be more resilient than anticipated because of how foreign policy is governed. Governments that wish to retract FFPs are constrained by three key governance features: First, international agreements and soft law on women's rights place demands on policy content. Second, the decentralized nature of foreign policy implementation allows considerable autonomy on the ground, so that implementors may continue to work with gender equality. Third, longstanding international expectations for Sweden as a gender equality champion create a role-based constraint. These factors contribute to the 'stickiness' of FFPs, suggesting that a retraction is unlikely to result in a wholesale abandonment of gender equality activities. The article also examines the enduring legacy of the Swedish FFP beyond its formal retraction, highlighting adoption of FFPs by a growing number of states in different parts of the world.

Summary
The COVID-19 crisis has fundamentally gendered effects, on intimate partner violence, the division of care labour, healthcare and more. This, and other COVID-19-related changes, may have important consequences for the gendered practice of diplomacy. This essay therefore discusses COVID-19 to highlight the need to pay better attention to gender in the study of diplomacy. For instance, what are the gender dimensions of diplomacy moving online? What are the gendered implications of the increased pressures on consular diplomacy? Turning to longer-term issues, how do gender justice organisations that respond to COVID-19 target diplomats and embassies? How, in turn, do diplomats respond to such advocacy and the underlying problems they address, and does the recent increase in women diplomats make any difference? Gender and diplomacy are intimately interwoven, this essay contends, and understanding the implications of COVID-19 on diplomacy necessitates examining this connection.

The COVID-19 crisis has fundamentally gendered effects, on intimate partner violence, the division of care labour, healthcare and more. This, and other COVID-19-related changes, may have important consequences for the gendered practice of diplomacy. This essay therefore discusses COVID-19 to highlight the need to pay better attention to gender in the study of diplomacy. For instance, what are the gender dimensions of diplomacy moving online? What are the gendered implications of the increased pressures on consular diplomacy? Turning to longer-term issues, how do gender justice organisations that respond to COVID-19 target diplomats and embassies? How, in turn, do diplomats respond to such advocacy and the underlying problems they address, and does the recent increase in women diplomats make any difference? Gender and diplomacy are intimately interwoven, this essay contends, and understanding the implications of COVID-19 on diplomacy necessitates examining this connection.

Bi- and multilateral initiatives that aim to promote international reconciliation and understanding through practices in educational media have to date generally been fragmented and have lacked a consolidated approach. In establishing the European Forum for Reconciliation and Cooperation in History and Social Sciences Education (EFREC), the Leibniz Institute for Educational Media | Georg Eckert Institute (GEI) is supporting and advancing this vital work by initiating a network of multilateral action and collaboration on history and civic education in Europe.

This book explores how gender equality, a central part of the Nordic imaginary, is used in the political communication of Nordic states. The analyses presented move beyond conventional images and discourses of Nordic gender- and women-friendliness by critically investigating how and to what extent gender equality serves nation-branding in the Nordic region. Nation-branding is an unescapable part of globalisation, which is a market-oriented process dominated by the West and predicated on the creation of winners and losers. Hence, efforts to strengthen the national brand or reputation of specific Nordic countries with the aid of gender equality as a political and symbolic value inevitably help to reinforce already established global hierarchies where the Nordics play the role of moral superpower. This book comprises scholars from various fields of specialisation, and provides evidence and understanding for the growing interaction between gender-equality policies and nation-branding in all five Nordic countries. It does so by exploring a variety of policy fields and issues including women's rights, foreign policy, rape and legislation, female quotas and business policies, in addition to the index industry. The rise of the global indexes has reproduced forceful images of the Nordic countries as frontrunners of gender equality, which indeed help the Nordic countries to further position themselves as 'best at being good'. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of Nordic gender equality in political science, sociology, law, criminology, political psychology and history, as well as those interested in nation branding, Nordic studies and exceptionalism.

How can feminist scholarship advance the field of foreign policy analysis to better understand contemporary foreign policy actions and challenges? This groundbreaking book provides the state-of-the-art in the study of gender, feminisms and foreign policy. Bringing together contributors from around the world, chapters offer new analyses of foreign policy topics, including diplomacy, trade, defence, environment, peacebuilding, disinformation and development assistance. The book advances new theories, concepts and empirical knowledge for the emerging field of feminist foreign policy analysis. The book stands as a vital resource for scholars, students and practitioners seeking to understand and respond to the multifaceted gendered dynamics of global politics