The Brazilian soy boom

The goal with this thesis is to analyze the expansion of Brazilian soybean cultiva-tion since 2000, through a World Systems Analysis perspective. The exploratory objective is concerned with how the soy expansion relates to the notion of periph-ery, as this has been conceptualized through the theoretical construct of periphery conditions by Terrence Hopkins and Immanuel Wallerstein (1982). The paper relies upon a triangulation of methods, combining secondary literature, expert interviews and statistical analysis. An analysis of global demand increase and the developments within the regulatory framework for soy production is con-ducted, in order to understand how this has affected expansion of soy cultivation. A commodity chain analysis of the Brazilian soy commodity chain is performed, in order to trace indicators pertaining to the notion of periphery conditions within a range of social, economic and environmental dimensions, affected by the process of soy expansion. The examination of the expansionary process indicates that this has been markedly associated with the emergence of periphery conditions in the Brazilian soy frontier regions, and that the soy sector´s political leverage has increased proportionately with its economic significance

SOY AND DEVELOPMENTALIST PERCEPTIONS - THE EVOLUTION OF EXPORT-ORIENTED AGRICULTURE AND THE GROWTH OF SOY THROUGH STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF THE BRAZILIAN STATE

RésuméThe goal within the following article is to understand how the soy sector, as part of export-oriented agriculture, has evolved through the different developmental stages in the Brazilian economic history of the 20th and early 21st century, and how the country´s shifting insertion into the global market has positioned interests linked to this sector, in relation the political hegemony of the day.                     The pragmatic nature of the policies addressing export agriculture is initially traced from the early developmentalism, through the birth of soy cultivation in the latter half of the century, towards the day today, when this single crop has come to hold an extremely significant position within Brazilian exports; a position which has had strong repercussions within the political sphere. A strong emphasis is laid upon the structural transformation of the Brazilian economy in the 1990´s and the new panorama which its internationalization has created for the growth of the soy sector, both during the Cardoso and the Lula administration.       Different developmentalist visions, both in their historical conceptualizations and in their presence within the contemporary political scenario through a neo-developmentalist orientation, are synthesized with significant developments within export-agriculture, in order to understand how they in praxis have come to concede a favorable political positioning of rural bourgeoisie. It thereby assumes the character of a historical analysis of the political economy of agricultural policies, with a particular focus upon the evolution of the soy sector.       The article concludes that Brazils historical positioning within the global economic scenario, has at the most, made it possible to mitigate the political influence of export-agriculture, which has been a constantly significant factor, restricting the possibilities for social inclusion of destitute rural segments and exacerbating the sub-ordinate positioning as a raw material exporter.     The “long perspective” which this paper operates with, derives from the perception of the need to understand the profound development, which the soy expansion in Brazil during recent decades has constituted, by tracing the policies affecting the sector below the imperatives posed by the structural transformations of the Brazilian economy

POWER DIMENSIONS AND CHINESE STRATEGY FOR OIL ACQUISITION AT THE DAWN OF THE 21ST CENTURY: AN ANALYSIS OF THE CASES OF KAZAKHSTAN, ANGOLA AND VENEZUELA

The objective within the present study is to evaluate the modalities of the Chinese power projection, as part of the country´s strategy to gain access to develop crude reserves in developing countries. The notion of power is treated through its conceptualizations within Joseph Nye´s (1990; 2004; 2011) liberal-institutional perspective combined with Zhimin Chen and Lulu Chang´s (2013) further elaborations of this. Recent Chinese relations with Kazakhstan, Angola and Venezuela are reviewed in order to be able to classify the Chinese power projection with regards to the different conceptual dimensions, to which it relates. A parallel objective is to assess the consistency between 1) the fundamental Chinese foreign policy goals, 2) the country´s strategy regarding energy related cooperation and obtainment, as well as 3) the specific tactics applied in the source countries examined. A strong reliance upon tangible power resources for material inducement is identified, as an essential part of the Chinese energy strategy. This however, should not be understood as being in contrast to or as incompatible with measures of soft power inducement, but rather as a necessary pre-condition for the establishment of channels through which intangible power resources can be applied

Re-emerging Chinese Worldviews? A conceptual analysis of the reincorporation of historically rooted perspectives within contemporary Chinese international thinking

Abstract: the article focuses upon the re-emergence of worldviews rooted in Imperial China, within contemporary Chinese international relations debates. A conceptual focus is applied in order to examine how worldviews, understood as historical perceptions of "the world", "world order" and Chinas global positioning, have become central parts of autochthonous Chinese international thinking. An initial review of the global outlook embedded in the historical East Asian Sino-Centric order, the tributary system and traditional Confusion philosophy is followed by an analysis of its re-materializations within debates related to regional hierarchy, the Tianxia (All Under Heaven) concept, and the construction of IR theory with Chinese characteristics. The article concludes by stressing the importance of adopting an open-minded approach to the incipient Chinese international theorizations. Due to diverging perceptions of the essential purpose of theory, some recent Chinese contributions may seem inconsistent or somehow diffuse through the lens of conventional IR thinking, but might nonetheless provide a vital conceptual platform for future innovation within the field. Keywords: China, International Relations Theory, Tianxia, Confucianism, Relationality. Abstrato: o artigo aborda a re-emergência de visões do mundo enraizadas na China Imperial, dentro de debates chineses contemporâneos de relações internacionais. Um foco conceitual é aplicado para examinar como visões do mundo, entendidas como percepções históricas sobre "o mundo", "ordem mundial" e o posicionamento global da China, têm se tornado parte central do pensamento internacional Chinês autóctone. Uma revisão inicial sobre as perspectivas globais embutidas na ordem leste asiática Sino-cêntrica, o sistema tributário, e filosofia Confuciana tradicional é seguida por uma análise da sua re-materialização dentro de debates relacionados à hierarquia regional, o conceito Tianxia (Tudo Sob o Céu), e a construção de uma teoria de RI com características chinesas. O artigo conclui enfatizando a importância de adotar uma abordagem de mente aberta para as teorizações internacionais incipientes chinesas. Devido a percepções divergentes sobre o propósito essencial de teoria, algumas recentes contribuições chinesas podem aparecer inconsistentes ou, de certo modo, difusas, vistas a partir do pensamento convencional de RI, no entanto, podem prover uma plataforma conceitual importante para inovação futura dentro da área. Palavras chave: China, Teoria das Relações Internacionais, Tianxia, Confucionismo, Relacionalidade

Repercussions of Chinese land deals in South America: vectors of mobilization and domestic institutions

ABSTRACT Introduction: The article analyses domestic reactions to Chinese land deals in Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, and how such attempts have affected these countries’ regulatory framework for foreign land acquisitions. Materials and Methods: Mobilizations against these deals are examined with focus on their internal composition of social forces, and the framings which they produce in order to press for regulatory restrictions. Results: The emergence of protest in Argentina and Brazil, relative to the lack of opposition in Bolivia, is explained through a most similar case design, emphasizing differences in the rural socio-economic structure and composition of capital within the agricultural sector as central explanatory factors, accounting for the variation of the outcome in the cases examined. Discussion: With point of departure in the debate about global land investment, the article contributes to understanding how foreign investment is accommodated within different modes of commodity dependent development.KEYWORDS: Land governance; South America; Land conflict; China; Agribusiness

Strain distributions in lattice-mismatched semiconductor core-shell nanowires

The authors study the elastic deformation field in lattice-mismatched core-shell nanowires with single and multiple shells. The authors consider infinite wires with a hexagonal cross section under the assumption of translational symmetry. The strain distributions are found by minimizing the elastic energy per unit cell using the finite element method. The authors find that the trace of the strain is discontinuous with a simple, almost piecewise variation between core and shell, whereas the individual components of the strain can exhibit complex variations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure