Myths of Multipolarity: The Sources of Brazil's Foreign Policy Overstretch

In this article, we provide a framework to analyze the foreign policy overstretch of middle powers, that is, their recent tendency to expand foreign policy goals and ambitions beyond their capabilities. We propose that overstretch results from the interaction of permissive international environments and the collusion of domestic actors to produce foreign policy myths. These myths, in turn, justify unsustainable swelling of foreign policy expenditures until they are shattered. After laying out our theory, we test it against the case of twenty-first-century Brazil. First, we document how interest groups logrolled to foster and capitalize on a “myth of multipolarity,” which, once entrenched in elite discourse and public opinion, resulted in a tangible overgrowth of foreign policy. Second, we show the extent of overstretch across four indicators—number of embassies, participation in peacekeeping operations, membership in international organizations, and aid projects overseas—using the synthetic control method to compare Brazil with a plausible counterfactual

Introduction: Turnaround and let-down: making sense of Brazil and Africa after the surge

By improving political connections under a common South-South aegis, promoting new trade opportunities and expanding the disbursement of significant amounts of development cooperation, Brazil quickly secured a foothold of its own in Africa between 2003 and 2014. However, in the face of a political meltdown and of controversial judicial investigations back home, Brazil’s inversions in Africa have since then essentially collapsed. This abrupt turnaround calls for a more critical exegesis of the years of expansion. What were the main successes and failures of Brazil’s overall strategy towards Africa? And what does the dramatic change of events, with Brazil moving from a pivotal player to an almost invisible one in merely half a decade, tell us about the possibility of a new pick-up of interest for Africa? This introduction to the edited volume takes stock of the main trends in previous literature over the character and content of Brazil’s foreign policy towards the continent and sets the ground for the following chapters.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

O papel do Itamaraty na definição da política externa do governo Collor de Mello

O objetivo deste trabalho é investigar o papel do Ministério das Relações Exteriores na política externa do governo Collor, relação comumente observada como frágil. Argumenta-se que, em vez de marginalizar o Itamaraty, o presidente reconfigurou a chancelaria, tanto em termos de seus decisores principais quanto em termos administrativos. A consequência foi o estabelecimento de uma política externa de feições mais liberais - um americanismo mitigado - em sintonia com os objetivos tradicionais das relações exteriores do Brasil