Journal: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)

1. When Weak States Win: A Supermodular Game-Theoretic Account of the 2006 Bolivia–Brazil Gas Crisis

Author:: Rodrigo Lyra and Manoel Galdino
Publication Date:: 07-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: What if third-party involvement and economic interdependence, often assumed to foster compromise, are precisely what entrench escalation in international negotiations? This paper introduces a supermodular game-theoretic framework to explain how indirect third-party alignment and domestic political constraints can produce strategic complementarities that lock actors into rigid bargaining positions. Drawing on an analytic narrative of the 2006 Bolivia–Brazil gas negotiations, we demonstrate how Venezuela’s political and financial backing emboldened Bolivia to harden its stance, while Brazil’s capacity to respond assertively was neutralized by domestic audience costs, intensified by electoral pressures. The result was not mediation or de-escalation, but a contested equilibrium shaped by positive feedback dynamics. Our findings show that third-party support can strategically reshape payoff structures in ways that incentivize escalation, even under conditions of deep interdependence. This framework advances the study of international negotiations by modelling how escalation can emerge endogenously from the strategic structure of trilateral interactions.
Topic:: Gas, Negotiation, Crisis Management, Game Theory, and Supermodular Game Theory
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Bolivia

2. The Renewed Promise of Hegemony

Author:: Sean Burges and Fabricio H. Chagas-Bastos
Publication Date:: 07-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Contemporary world order exhibits interdependence without a single state able to impose ordering principles unilaterally and without the hegemonic war often presumed to clear the slate. Scholarship conflates dominant power with the order it sponsors, so criticism of the liberal international order (LIO) is read as an attack on primacy. This article theorises hegemony, in Gramscian terms, as a relational ordering structure that fuses coercion, political economy, and ideas, and that endures through absorption and co-option of dissent. Challenges are incorporated through selective concessions and institutional redesign, diluting their transformative content while reiterating core principles. Our argument decouples power transition from order transition, moving debate beyond collapse versus persistence by advancing an analytically tractable account of adaptive endurance that shows how hegemonic orders renew themselves through the managed incorporation of critique into institutional reform.
Topic:: International Relations, Hegemony, Liberal Order, International Order, and Interdependence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

3. From fragmentation to integration: China’s “Vertical-Horizontal Model” for the protection of overseas interests

Author:: Zhiqiang Zou, Degang Sun, and Jinan Wang
Publication Date:: 07-2026
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013, China’s overseas interests have been faced with a growing array of multidimensional threats. China has carried out legislative and institutional reforms, forming a “vertical-horizontal model” for interagency cooperation and government-society fusion. The central government of China has passed a series of legislative acts to legalise China’s protection of overseas interests, a top-down vertical governance. Parallel ministries, departments, and offices have formed task-based institutions through consultation to promote China’s overseas interest protection, thereby establishing a cross-sectoral horizontal governance mechanism. The implementation of the “vertical-horizontal model,” however, confronts an array of hurdles, with heavy bureaucracy potentially giving rise to problems such as inefficiency and collective irresponsibility.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Government, Reform, Legislation, Institutions, and Vertical-Horizontal Model
Political Geography:: China and Asia

4. Analysis of the Organizational Performance of a Strategic Defense Company in Brazil: Conceptions from the Perspective of Defense Studies in Europe

Author:: Marcus Vinicius Goncalves da Silva
Publication Date:: 04-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This study proposes, based on scientific production carried out in Europe, the adaptation of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) method by Kaplan and Norton, for the analysis of the performance of Brazilian Strategic Defense Companies (SDC). The investigation is carried out in a comparative way, in two stages. In the first one, a bibliometric research was carried out to identify the characteristics of the European Defense Industrial Base. In the second stage of the research, the BSC-Defense indicators, developed based on the literature found, were empirically analyzed in a Strategic Defense Company in Brazil. The results indicate that the BSC-Defense instrument can serve as a guiding element for Strategic Defense Companies, as it includes an integrated and dynamic set of capabilities, processes and activities related to the strategic performance of the organization.
Topic:: Defense Industry, Performance Evaluation, and Strategic Defense Companies (SDC)
Political Geography:: Europe, Brazil, and South America

5. 30 years of the Advisory Opinion on the Legality of Nuclear Weapons: eppur si muove

Author:: Lucas Carlos Lima
Publication Date:: 04-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons remains a pivotal reference in international law and disarmament debates. While the Opinion did not categorically prohibit nuclear weapons, its reasoning has been widely cited in legal and diplomatic arenas. This study examines the Opinion’s long-term influence through three key elements: its incorporation into state practice, its role in international litigation, and its impact on the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Employing a methodology centered on primary sources, this research evaluates the Opinion’s relevance in shaping international legal norms and assesses whether it still accurately reflects the state of international law on nuclear disarmament.
Topic:: International Law, Nuclear Weapons, Disarmament, and International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Political Geography:: Global Focus

6. What makes a legislator promote or thwart trade liberalization in developing democracies?

Author:: Simón Lodato, Andrés Dockendorff Dockendorff, and Dorotea López
Publication Date:: 04-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This paper investigates how ideological polarization and constituency factors influence legislators’ voting behaviour on Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). We explore the Chilean case, where trade policy has recently become highly politicized, to test three key relationships. First, we argue that right-wing legislators are more likely to champion FTAs when trade becomes a highly politicized issue, as the ratification of the CPTPP shows. Conversely, when trade is less politically salient, right-wing legislators are less likely to vote favourably for FTAs. Second, legislators representing regions with a high concentration of workers in tradable sectors are less likely to support trade liberalization, as it can put jobs at risk in their districts. Our results show that ideology explains legislators’ support to FTAs but only when the trade policy is politicized. Also, the probability of voting in favour of FTAs decreases as the proportion of workers in tradable sectors within the region increases. From a comparative perspective, the results highlight how the effect of politicization, observed mainly in European settings, is generalizable to a different set up: a presidential developing democracy.
Topic:: Ideology, Trade Liberalization, Trade Policy, Politicization, Legislators, and Free Trade Agreements
Political Geography:: South America and Chile

7. The Rise and Decline of Brazil as a Peacekeeper

Author:: Geraldine Rosas Duarte, Letícia Carvalho, and Dawisson Belem Lopes
Publication Date:: 04-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The article investigates the trajectory and transformations of Brazil’s involvement in UN peacekeeping operations, seeking to explain the recent hesitation to assume a leadership role in contrast to previous periods, particularly during the two initial presidential terms of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-2011). It highlights the influence of international and domestic factors on Brazil’s new stance, including changes in the nature of UN peacekeeping missions and the impact of the deep politico-economic crisis Brazil experienced between 2013 and 2022. The shifts in foreign policy during the governments of Michel Temer and Jair Bolsonaro resulted in a more isolationist view and a significant reduction in Brazil’s participation in peacekeeping operations. The article concludes by analyzing the need for a strategic reassessment by Brazil of the dynamics of peacekeeping operations and the domestic challenges faced by the new Lula da Silva government to realign its future participation with its national interests and capabilities.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, United Nations, Peacekeeping, and Lula da Silva
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

8. Navigating US-China technology competition among Middle Powers: study of Chilean response

Author:: Andrés Orlando Bórquez Basáez and Dorotea López Giral
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Amid intensifying US–China rivalry over digital governance, middle powers like Chile face growing pressure to navigate an increasingly fragmented global order. This article examines Chile’s response through expert interviews and analysis of three key technology cases involving Chinese firms. The findings show that Chile has adopted a Hedging Strategy, limiting involvement in sensitive tech projects aligned with US security concerns, while continuing to attract Chinese investment in areas like electromobility and renewables. The study underscores the combined impact of geopolitical tensions, domestic bureaucratic constraints, and the challenges of engaging with China, whose growing presence still requires a process of mutual adaptation. These dynamics raise questions about Chile’s priorities and the limits of its autonomy in this complex context.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Science and Technology, Bilateral Relations, Strategic Competition, and Middle Powers
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Latin America, North America, Chile, and United States of America

9. Impact of China–Latin America Transportation Infrastructure Cooperation on Latin American Economies: A Project Data Study (2009–2023)

Author:: Cao Ting
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Since the beginning of the 21st century, China and Latin American countries have actively collaborated across various fields, including politics, economy, culture, and technology. Transportation infrastructure cooperation has emerged as a key aspect of this relationship. This article analyzes the characteristics of China–Latin America transportation infrastructure cooperation using project data from 2009 to 2023 and evaluates its effectiveness and future prospects. The findings indicate that this cooperation has yielded significant achievements; however, challenges remain in areas such as communication with indigenous communities and environmental protection. Moving forward, it is essential for China and Latin America to deepen their collaboration, prioritize quality projects through strategic planning, and promote the green development and digitalization of transportation infrastructure.
Topic:: Infrastructure, Transportation, Economic Integration, and Regional Economy
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Latin America

10. Divergent status-seeking in elite clubs: Brazil, China, and the BRICS expansion in Latin America

Author:: Luis Gouveia Junior
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: BRICS increased its geopolitical reach with a recent expansion. However, a divergent status-seeking, conceptualized as antagonistic strategies to gain status, emerged in BRICS during this process. While China defended the expansion, Brazil hesitated to accept it. Focusing on Latin America, where both seek to gain status, I analyzed how Brazil’s and China’s divergent status-seeking influenced the applications of Argentina, Bolivia, Cuba, and Venezuela for BRICS. I concluded that status-seeking motivations drove the candidacies of these states. However, Brazil served as a gatekeeper, potentially hardening the acceptance of Latin American countries in BRICS due to status calculations. Argentina’s entry was more acceptable for Brazil’s strategy to garner prestige than Venezuela’s. Meanwhile, China defended a broader expansion, supporting all four candidacies.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, BRICS, Regional Politics, and Status
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, South America, and Latin America

11. Cinema as soft power: China’s strategic narratives in Brazil

Author:: Paulo Menechelli
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This paper examines how China leverages cinema as a soft power tool in Brazil, focusing on film festivals, co-productions, and Confucius Institute initiatives. Adopting a poststructuralist approach, it analyzes the strategic narratives embedded in these efforts and their reception by Brazilian audiences. While initiatives like the Looking China Youth Film Project show promise, challenges persist, including Hollywood’s dominance and limited audience reach. The delayed 2017 co-production agreement underscores the complexity of bilateral cultural engagement. By highlighting both the potential and limitations of China’s cinematic strategy, the paper contributes to understanding the cultural dimensions of China–Latin America relations.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Soft Power, Cinema, and Strategic Narratives
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, and South America

12. Brazil-China Relations: A Three-Decade Analysis of Knowledge Diplomacy (1994–2024)

Author:: Rodrigo Franklin Frogeri, Francisco Jose Leandro, and Yichao Li
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: China’s rise has influenced global affairs, including its relations with Brazil. This study explores knowledge diplomacy - academic collaborations forming innovation networks that complement traditional state diplomacy. Marking 30 years of strategic partnership (1993-2023) and 50 years of Sino-Brazilian diplomatic relations (1974-2024), the research poses and addresses the following question: “To what extent does knowledge diplomacy manifest in Brazil–China bilateral relations?”. Using a systematic literature review and social network analysis, the findings indicate that knowledge diplomacy between Brazil and China remains in its nascent stages. Only three initiatives related to the co-production of scientific knowledge were identified, involving a total of six researchers from both countries. Despite the comprehensiveness of the analysis, the results reveal that state-level, proactive engagement between higher education institutions in Brazil and China has remained superficial throughout the three decades under examination.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, Soft Power, Higher Education, Social Networks, Network Analysis, and Strategic Partnerships
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, and South America

13. Open-access Challenging Dollar Dominance? How Brazil Responds to RMB Internationalization

Author:: Thaís Araripe, Luiza Peruffo, and Andre Moreira Cunha
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article explores the role of China’s currency, the renminbi (RMB), in Brazil, analyzing how the country positions itself in the shift toward alternative currencies to the U.S. dollar amidst changing global monetary power. It addresses three key questions: How widely is the RMB used in Brazil’s economy? What institutional measures support RMB adoption in Brazil? And what are the implications of this engagement for Brazil’s role in the international monetary and financial system? Findings indicate a modest but growing RMB integration in Brazil. Rather than embarking on a de-dollarization process, Brazil appears to be employing an incremental approach – one that leverages selective institutional measures to diversify its financial risks while preserving its strategic ties with the dominant global currency.
Topic:: Bilateral Relations, Developing World, Economy, Currency, Internationalization, De-Dollarization, International Monetary and Financial System, and Economic Sovereignty
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, and South America

14. Between distrust and strategic opportunity: Chinese scholars discuss the U.S. impact in Sino-Latin American relations

Author:: Antonio José Pagán Sánchez
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This study examines how academic publications in China have interpreted the U.S. impact on Sino-Latin American relations between 2009 and 2024. This period encompasses three different U.S. presidents: Barack Obama, Donald Trump (first presidency), and Joe Biden. The findings indicate that, strikingly, distrust toward the U.S. was already present well before U.S.-China tensions erupted during Trump’s presidency, and that publications consulted perceived this administration as a strategic opportunity for China to expand its presence in the region. Under Biden, distrust toward the United States remained, and his presidency was not seen as much of a strategic opportunity. The study also highlights the consistent recommendation among Chinese scholars for Beijing to adopt a conciliatory approach toward Washington.
Topic:: Bilateral Relations, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Academia, Donald Trump, Rivalry, and Monroe Doctrine
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Latin America

15. Too Big to Dock: Brazil-China Iron Trade and the Valemax Vessels Crisis

Author:: Victor Thives
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article analyzes the Valemax crisis to explore how regulatory barriers and domestic interests shape trade. When the Valemax, vessels owned by Brazil’s giant mining company Vale, were barred from Chinese ports, allegedly due to safety concerns, a diplomatic and commercial impasse emerged. Drawing on the Bureaucratic Politics Model, the study shows how Brazilian state agencies coordinated to defend Vale’s interests, while China protected its shipping sector. The eventual resolution, by transferring ship ownership to Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), illustrates how foreign firms must adapt to China’s political economy. The case highlights the influence of large companies on foreign policy and the complexities of commercial diplomacy in asymmetric economic relationships.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, Regulation, Economy, Trade, Bureaucracy, and State-Owned Enterprises
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, and South America

16. The Third World Imperative: How Brazil-China Relations Emerge from the Aftershock of Richard Nixon’s Latin American Foreign Policy

Author:: Pablo Muñoz
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article analyzes the emergence of Brazil-China relations in the context of Richard Nixon’s foreign policy toward Latin America. It examines how American perceptions of Brazil as a potential competitor, and the geopolitical economic maneuvers of the Nixon administration influenced Brazil’s foreign policy decisions. The article highlights Brazil’s growing nationalism and its engagement with the Third World, including economic interactions with the Soviet Union and the eventual establishment of relations with mainland China. Ultimately, it argues that U.S. foreign policy played a significant role in shaping Brazil’s understanding of its Third World imperative, paving the way for closer relations with China that continue to this day.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Economics, Nationalism, Third World, and Dictatorship
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, South America, North America, and United States of America

17. Defining the Belt and Road: How Ideas and Interests Shaped Argentina’s Approach to the Initiative

Author:: Zara C. Albright
Publication Date:: 12-2025
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: How do ideas and identities affect how countries evaluate joining China’s Belt and Road Initiative? This article employs process tracing to analyze Argentina’s negotiations prior to its accession in February 2022. Argentina is a crucial case to explain because both the Macri and Fernández governments faced similar material benefits of infrastructure finance. However, the Macri government defined the BRI as a form of alignment with China, while the Fernández government interpreted it as South-South cooperation and autonomy from Western-led financial institutions. These findings show that developing countries evaluate both the material and symbolic costs and benefits of the BRI.
Topic:: International Relations, Finance, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Development Finance
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Argentina, and South America

18. RBPI and the Study of IR: Fostering a Multifaceted Platform for Global Dialogue, Debate and Academic Cooperation

Author:: Haroldo Ramanzini Junior, Antônio Carlos Lessa, and Wilton Dias
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the evolving landscape of international politics, the challenges this scenario presents for the field of International Relations (IR) and the pivotal role played by Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI) in shaping both academic knowledge and policy frameworks. The study aims to achieve two primary objectives. First, to contextualize the significant shifts in international politics in the last few years, such as the rise of China and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, while advocating for interdisciplinary approaches and highlighting the contributions of Latin American, particularly Brazilian, scholars to global academic debates. Second, to trace the history, evolution, and international impact of RBPI since its inception in 1958, emphasizing its role in leveraging the standards of academic publishing in Brazil and Latin America, fostering international collaborations, and influencing policy decisions. The paper proposes that RBPI serves as an indispensable platform for advancing rigorous academic inquiry and offers a more inclusive perspective on international relations, thereby having a lasting impact on both the academic and policy landscapes globally
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, Research, and Publishing
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Global South

19. Domestic regimes and national preferences as factors of regionalism’s crisis. The case of Guatemala’s regional integration policy

Author:: Francisco Santos-Carillo and Luis Andrés Padilla Vassaux
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The article analyzes the influence of internal factors in the Central American integration crisis, based on Guatemalan politics and from a liberal intergovernmental approach. The results confirm the relationship between national preferences, some alignment with the preferences of partner states, and the results and effects of the process. For Guatemala, integration is an ideational commitment conditioned by the absence of negative externalities for the interests of governments and other key actors. National preferences limited the scope and determined the institutional design. The identity commitment and the creation of regional institutions seem to be insufficient for integration.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Government, Regional Integration, and Regionalism
Political Geography:: Latin America, Central America, and Guatemala

20. Spatiotemporal enabling/disabling factors of local agency in peacebuilding processes. Analysis from present time history and critical peace geography

Author:: Gonzalo Vitón
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The aim of this paper is to analyze how there are spatiotemporal factors that can disable/enable local agency capacities in peacebuilding processes. Those local agency capacities depend on the context, which are shaped both by time and space. The traditional conception of time and space allows only a narrow understanding that reduces the possibilities of agency, and to rethink and broaden the concept of time and space I rely on History of the Present Time and Critical Geography. This paper illustrates the theoretical debate through the women’s agency capacities in the Mozambican peace process. This example demonstrates the complexities and multifaceted disabling/enabling capacity of spatiotemporal factors for the exercise of agency and provide some guidelines to identify them.
Topic:: Women, History, Peacebuilding, and Agency
Political Geography:: Africa and Mozambique

21. “The thing with sexual exploitation”: gender representations and the Brazilian military in an UN peace mission

Author:: Izadora Xavier do Monte
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Based on thematic analysis of 40 semi-directive interviews, observation in Port-au-Prince and Brasilia and following a standpoint feminist and international political sociology approach, the article aims to explore gender representations among Brazilian peacekeepers. Using the Brazilian experience in Haiti as a case study, the article seeks to show how the UNSC agenda on Women, Peace and Security is appropriated by actors on the field. It argues that peacekeepers seek to reduce dissonance between the existing military understanding of gender and UN expectations. UN “gender mainstreaming” is reinterpreted to accommodate naturalizing and traditional discourses on not only women, but also men.
Topic:: United Nations, Peacekeeping, Gender Based Violence, Gender, and Military
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, Caribbean, and Haiti

22. Regionalism and the Agenda 2030: Inequality and Decent Work in Mexico

Author:: Karina Lilia Pasquariello Mariano, Roberto Goulart Menezes, and Marcela Franzoni
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The present study analyzes the limits of regionalism in achieving SDG 8, with a focus on the Mexican reality. It is based on the hypothesis that the role of the national government is decisive for incorporation of the Agenda 2030 in cases of regionalism based on an intergovernmental dynamic. We argue that NAFTA had a limited impact on improving working conditions in Mexico, as it only affected export-oriented regions and sectors. Since 2019 there has been an increase in the minimum wage, which can be explained not only by enforcing the USMCA, but also by a compatibility between internal and external agendas. Therefore, the case of Mexico allows us to affirm that the national government was decisive for the incorporation of the Agenda 2030 in the context of intergovernmental agreements.
Topic:: Inequality, NAFTA, Regionalism, Work, and Agenda 2030
Political Geography:: Latin America and Mexico

23. Mercosur and Environment: progress in promoting the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda

Author:: Regiane Nitsch Bressan and Tatiana de Souza Garcia
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article aims to reveal how the UN’s 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially the environmental ones, are being incorporated into Mercosur. Firstly, the paper presents a brief evolution of the environmental agenda in the history of Mercosur. Then, to subsidise the analysis, using quantitative data, we discussed the gradual incorporation of the SDGs in the different Mercosur bodies. In order to understand the evolution of the environmental SDGs, the research required the collection and analysis of qualitative data within the framework of the Environment Working Subgroup (SGT-6), which revealed the main environmental issues and their interrelationship with the 2030 Agenda. Finally, Brazil’s role and the prospects for the environmental agenda in Mercosur are discussed.
Topic:: Environment, Sustainable Development Goals, Regional Integration, Mercosur, and Agenda 2030
Political Geography:: Global Focus

24. Regionalism Beyond Land Borders: Strengthening regional integration in Latin America and the Caribbean through blue economy policies

Author:: Thauan Santos and Charles S. Colgan
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article seeks to highlight the key role of the blue economy in fostering regional integration of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) based on the 2030 Agenda. By proposing a “beyond the boxes” approach, SDG 14 is not the only driver that stands out. Hence, we propose a regionalism beyond the state-centric and land borders, which will require reflecting on and rethinking theories, policies, and practices related to the foundations of regional integration, IR, and the 2030 Agenda itself. The methodology combines UN reports and data from ECLAC, WRI, FAO, UNEP-WCMC, UNESCOMAB, WWF, UN-DESA, and NOAA.
Topic:: Environment, Regional Integration, Oceans and Seas, Regionalism, and Blue Economy
Political Geography:: Latin America and Caribbean

25. South Africa as a Leading Regional Power in Africa? An Analysis of the Implementation of the African Union, Auda-Nepad and Agenda 2063

Author:: Murilo Gomes da Costa
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The article analyzes South Africa’s role in the African Union’s Agenda 2063. It examines South Africa’s position as a leading regional power post-apartheid. The study contends that Pretoria has developed a strategy towards its region. The argument is supported by a descriptive analysis of the implementation of Auda-Nepad and South Africa’s efforts to broaden the thematic scope of the AU. The results show that South Africa’s strategy as a leading regional power in Africa has been achieved through Pretoria’s role as a paymaster in both the AU and Auda-Nepad, alongside the development of its own Agenda 2063 projects.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, African Union, and Regional Power
Political Geography:: Africa and South Africa

26. EU-LAC inter-regionalism as a driver to achieve the environmental Sustainable Development Goals

Author:: Bruno Theodoro Luciano and Miguel Ayuso
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article assesses how environmental issues have been incorporated into the strategic association between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean. It analyses whether the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are reflected in the EU-CELAC declarations, and what bi-regional programmes and projects have been developed in relation to the environmental SDGs. The analysis shows how the environment has become a key priority in both the political dialogue and development cooperation pillars, although it has only recently been included in the trade pillar, and in an incipient way.
Topic:: Environment, European Union, Sustainable Development Goals, Regional Integration, and Trade
Political Geography:: Europe

27. Bottom-up regionality and the Sustainable Development Goals: civil society organizations shaping 2030 Agenda implementation in Latin America

Author:: Thiago Gehre Galvão, Mairon G. Bastos Lima, and Rodrigo Ramiro
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Civil society organizations (CSOs) are shaping the formation of a bottom-up regionality in the context of the 2030 Agenda implementation. Using the Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region as a case, this article unravels the pivotal role they play in the diffusion and incorporation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Drawing from qualitative content analysis of official documents, critical discourse analysis of primary and secondary sources, and semi-structured interviews, we understand CSOs as institutional entrepreneurs with specific motivations to engage and influence the regional governance process. While many challenges persist, civil society organizations are shaping 2030 Agenda implementation in LAC.
Topic:: Civil Society, Sustainable Development Goals, Regionalism, and Agenda 2030
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

28. Why can ASEAN Promote Sustainable Development Cooperation?

Author:: Cao Ting and Luo Yongkun
Publication Date:: 12-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: ASEAN has arguably been one of the most successful regionalisms, which since its inception has undergone several profound challenges, including the 1997 Asian financial crisis. In response to the fierce competition among major powers and the economic and social challenges, ASEAN has concentrated on sustainable development to promote unity and centrality. Sustainable development cooperation aligns with the interests of ASEAN states and helps to promote the construction of the ASEAN community and strike a balance of power on the world stage. Nevertheless, there may be a need for more efforts to resolve the challenges facing sustainable development.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Financial Crisis, Sustainable Development Goals, Regionalism, and ASEAN
Political Geography:: Asia and Southeast Asia

29. US Hegemony in Latin America: Think Tanks and the Formation of Consensus about the Chinese Presence

Author:: Luciana Wietchikoski and Livia Peres Milani
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: In recent years, U.S. government agencies have defined the Chinese presence in Latin America as a challenge, which has organized foreign policy towards the region. Departing from a neo-Gramscian approach, this paper investigates the bibliographical production of U.S. think tanks and seeks to understand the construction of consensus about the Chinese presence in Latin America. The methodology is based on content analysis and we identified two main narratives: in the first, the Chinese presence is presented as a threat to U.S. regional hegemony; in the second, the Chinese adaptation to liberal precepts is sought. There are therefore nuances in how the Chinese power is perceived, although the discourses remain restricted to the promotion of capitalism and neoliberalism under U.S. leadership.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Hegemony, and Think Tanks
Political Geography:: China, Latin America, North America, and United States of America

30. How does IR study children? A Brazilian perspective from the field

Author:: Patricia Nabuco Martuscelli, Giovanna Ayres Arantes de Paiva, Camilla de Azevedo Pereira, and Bruna Karoline Pinto da Silva
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Children, or people under 18 years-old, represent 30% of the world population. While Childhood Studies gained attention in the last decades, in Brazil this topic remains incipient. In 2022 the Group of Studies on Childhoods and International Relations (GEIRI) mapped the open depositories for dissertations of Brazilian universities with IR programmes to understand how children appear as an IR issue. Using the framework of Global IR, this article presents two main contributions by analysing this novel data: a) ontological contribution by understanding Childhood Studies as a Global IR topic and Brazilian practices and interactions to see IR outside of a Western perspective and b) methodological contribution by analysing how students contribute to the IR knowledge production on Children and IR in Brazil mostly as international security and human rights issues.
Topic:: International Relations, Security, Human Rights, Children, and Research
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

31. Deep fires and the British strategic posture: does the war in Ukraine validate it?

Author:: Eduardo Munhoz Svartman, Augusto W.M. Teixeira Junior, and Tamiris Pereira dos santos
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The Russia-Ukraine war presented an unintended chance to assess the British strategic posture regarding deep fires. The deployment of guided rocket artillery systems by Ukrainian forces in 2022 altered the land battle dynamics significantly, especially with the modern Western deep fires by the US, UK, and France. This study analyses the evolution of the UK defence policy and land force structure and the impact of deep fires in the first phase of the war, and discusses challenges ahead of Britain due to the ongoing conflict. This perspective might apply to other cases, including Brazil, as we drew upon critiques mainly directed to the over-reliance on technology over combat mass due to the re-emergence of conventional warfare.
Topic:: Defense Policy, Science and Technology, Military Strategy, Armed Conflict, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Russia, United Kingdom, and Ukraine

32. Regional Governance in Latin America: The More the Merrier?

Author:: Cristiane Lucena Carneiro
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Latin America regional governance is characterized by institutional complexity, largely the consequence of overlapping membership and mandates. The dominant view that overlap in Latin American regional organizations is problematic warrants further investigation. This article explores instances of overlap and parallelism within Latin American regional governance institutions to argue that growing complexity may be associated with normative progress. The article offers a portrait of overlapping regionalism based on data from the Regional Organizations Competencies Dataset (ROCO). The analysis confirms: institutional overlap has increased since 1945; it identifies the critical junctures that catapulted this process which is loosely associated with normative progress.
Topic:: Governance, Institutions, International Order, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:: Latin America

33. The Realist debate in the context of the War in Ukraine: balancing dynamics, international change and strategic calculus

Author:: Layla Ibrahim Abdallah Dawood and Eugenio Pacelli Lazzarotti Diniz Costa
Publication Date:: 05-2024
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The article discusses Mearsheimer’s interpretation of Russia’s use of force against Ukraine based on concepts and categories of Offensive Realism. It is argued that external balancing lost its place during unipolarity. However, Russian internal balancing is one of the factors that enabled the current conflict, and Russia’s rapprochement with China diminishes the prospects for conflict in Asia, allowing Russian military efforts to be concentrated in the European theater. Additionally, the decision to use force will be analyzed in its strategic dimension. It is concluded that Russia’s activities against Ukraine are entirely consistent with Offensive Realism, despite of Mearsheimer’s allegations contrarywise.
Topic:: International Relations, Realism, Russia-Ukraine War, and Balance of Power
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, and Ukraine

34. Impact of economic sanctions on net commodity-producing and net commodity-consuming countries

Author:: Sergio R. Vale and Eduardo Viola
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The war in Ukraine has had a marked economic impact. However, since Russia is a net producer of important commodities, the impact of sanctions on its economy was less than expected. But what would happen if there was a war involving a country that was a net importer of commodities? In the case of a possible China-US conflict over Taiwan, the impact on the world economy would be different, with a deeper recession around the world, but the impact on the Brazilian economy would still be positive on account of the possibility that would remain of agricultural exports to China.
Topic:: Agriculture, Economics, International Trade and Finance, Sanctions, Commodities, and Exports
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Europe, Ukraine, Taiwan, Asia, North America, and United States of America

35. The impacts on the change of training architecture for UN Peacekeeping Operations in Brazil

Author:: Edson Ramon Lima Pereira dos Santos and Mariana Pimenta Oliveira Baccarini
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article seeks to analyze how norms and procedures created in International Organizations spread to member states. More specifically, the analysis focuses on how changes in the training architecture for UN peace operations, driven by the Brahimi report, caused institutional and procedural changes on the administrative, political and military spheres in Brazil. Combining official documents and analytical literature, through process tracing, we find that the main causal mechanism observed was emulation, given Brazil’s desire to adapt to use the capacity building as a tool for international action.
Topic:: International Cooperation, United Nations, Public Policy, Peace, and Strategic Interests
Political Geography:: Global Focus

36. International development cooperation as a global governance policy

Author:: Philippe Andre Orliange and Thomas Zaratiegui
Publication Date:: 08-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The three major international texts adopted in 2015 -Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development, 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Paris Climate Agreement- place national public policies and actors at the heart of international development cooperation (IDC). By bringing IDC closer to national institutions, particularly development banks, and taking it further away from traditional foreign policy, this shift has challenged longheld IDC narratives and structures, both among developed and developing countries. It has also laid the foundations for a degree of structured and universal accountability within the international development cooperation system, setting the stage for a wider shift within global governance.
Topic:: Climate Change, International Cooperation, Governance, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:: Global Focus

37. Back to sovereignty? Policy space in investor-State dispute settlement

Author:: Magdalena Bas
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The paper examines how investor-State dispute settlement mechanisms -included in international investment agreements- are able to condition national policy space, even when foreign investors question measures regarding human rights, public health, or environmental protection. It also intends to identify and explain the new trends in international investment agreements that illustrate different ways out the investor-State dispute settlement labyrinth. In order to achieve the objectives, a qualitative documentary research was conducted, based on secondary sources. The new trends in international investment agreements cartography show the emergence of a new concept of sovereignty rooted in the defense of policy space -“regulatory sovereignty”.
Topic:: Sovereignty, Governance, Law, and Investment
Political Geography:: Global Focus

38. International Law and Order Enforcement: Police Assistance Programs and Politics in US-Brazil Relations

Author:: Priscila Villela
Publication Date:: 09-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Police Assistance programs have been a permanent part of US foreign policy towards Latin America, with Brazil being one of the most important beneficiaries. Throughout their history, they have been oriented according to changing agendas, from anticommunism to the war on drugs. Based on documentary sources and specialized literature, we analyze the politics of US policing in Brazil, reconstituting agendas and interests that motivated police assistance programs through the lens of critical police studies in IR. In doing so, we demonstrate that police cooperation is historically a crucial part of US-Brazil bilateral relations, despite the unfrequent prominence in the literature.
Topic:: International Cooperation, International Law, Bilateral Relations, and Police
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, North America, and United States of America

39. “Brazilian Foreign Policy, Multilateral Institutions and Power Relations: an Interview with Ambassador Rubens Ricupero”

Author:: Alexandra de Mello e Silva, Flavia de Campos Mello, Leticia Pinheiro, and Monica Herz
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This interview stems from the interest of four Brazilian scholars in contributing to the study of foreign policy through dialogue with practitioners. As the study about foreign policy becomes more reflexive and critical, we turned to a Brazilian diplomat, Rubens Ricupero, who based on his vast and often difficult experience, has written about his interactions with the international world and strived to establish a dialogue with the academic world. Between May and July 2021, Ambassador Ricupero shared with us his views on the difficulties and possibilities of dialogue regarding multilateral agreements and institutions, such as the GATT and the UNCTAD
Topic:: Foreign Policy, International Cooperation, Strategic Interests, and Power
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

40. “One Single Agriculture”: Dismantling Policies and Silencing Peasant Family Farmers in Brazilian Foreign Policy (2016-2022)

Author:: Thiago Lima, Laura Trajber Waisbich, and Lizandra Serafim
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Brazil experienced the opening-up and democratization of its foreign policymaking in the last decades, but since 2016 a wave of bureaucratic reforms sought to reverse that process. This paper contributes to understanding this phenomenon by looking at the agri-food dimension of Brazilian foreign policy. Through the analysis of official documental and discursive data, we discuss successive symbolic-discursive, as well as policy-institutional governmental efforts to close-off foreign policymaking to peasant family farmers and their interests. The study reveals changing patterns in state-society interfaces, and contributes to bridging the fields of Foreign Policy Analysis, Policy Dismantling and Social Participation.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Agriculture, Farming, and Social Order
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

41. When only China wants to play: Institutional turmoil and Chinese investment in Brazil

Author:: Niels Sondergaard, Ana Flavia Barros-Platiau, and Hyeyoon Park
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The political and institutional crisis in Brazil from 2015, fueled largely by corruption probes and lawfare, had severe repercussions within the Brazilian construction and energy sectors. While many international investors withdrew from Brazil in this period, Chinese investment surged. This article accounts for the particular characteristics of Chinese investments, such as sectorial complementarities, risk assessment, market size attraction, and state-drivenness, which may explain this development.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Hegemony, Investment, and Institutions
Political Geography:: China, Asia, Brazil, and South America

42. Marriage of convenience, love at first sight? A brief manual for teaching international relations in Brazil and beyond

Author:: Andrea Quirino Steiner, Elia Elisa Cia Alves, and Cristin a Carvalho Pacheco
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Professors may start teaching either out of love or out of convenience, with limited resources. This article provides a brief manual for planning, designing and implementing PS&IR courses. We discuss syllabi, from the basics to the inclusion of transversal topics, then present eight active learning strategies plus traditional lectures, and debate assessments. Although we consider the context of new teachers within Brazilian universities, we believe this is useful for professors from all countries and levels of experience. Thereby, we provide practical advice for teachers to live happily ever after in their pedagogical love story (even if it did not start that way).
Topic:: International Relations, Family, Marriage, and Social Order
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

43. BRICS and Global Health Diplomacy in the Covid-19 Pandemic: Situating BRICS’ diplomacy within the prevailing global health governance context

Author:: Candice Moore
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: BRICS have been cast as a bloc with the potential to make significant changes in Global Health. The management of the Covid-19 pandemic has shown divisions in the bloc and the limits of its ability to formulate policies or even act upon previously agreed positions. This paper employs an examination of BRICS Health Ministerial declarations and an analysis of power in International Relations to reflect on BRICS’ Global Health diplomacy during the Covid-19 pandemic, covering the key questions of vaccine research and development, vaccine nationalism, and travel bans. It finds that multiple dimensions of power matter in Global Health leadership.
Topic:: Health, International Cooperation, Governance, Pandemic, COVID-19, and BRICS
Political Geography:: Africa, Russia, China, Europe, India, Asia, South Africa, Brazil, and South America

44. Borders and transit countries: the re-territorialization of Middle East pipelines

Author:: Nino Luis Maduerira
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Following the discovery of vast oil reserves in the Persian Gulf region, the Middle East became the main hub for the expansion and development of western pipeline technology. Contrary to the borderless world described in some accounts of globalization, what is observed after 1956 is the establishment of hard political borders, directly under the oversight of national governments, for pipeline deployment with minimal boundary crossings. In the Middle East, this minimal permeability of frontiers entailed fewer risks compared with the uncertainties arising from having to cross several countries: the sovereign state thus seemed the best container for oil transportation. The conclusion puts forward the concept of re-territorialization to explain the multi-level changes that took place, entailing shifts in geography, in business structures and in international relations.
Topic:: Oil, Science and Technology, Natural Resources, Borders, and Transition
Political Geography:: Middle East

45. South America at the core of Brazilian foreign policy during Bolsonaro’s administration (2019-2022)

Author:: Miriam Gomes Saraiva
Publication Date:: 10-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The arrival of Jair Bolsonaro to the Brazilian presidency brought many changes to foreign policy. Based on new ideas in a new foreign policymaking format, several patterns of international behavior were questioned and replaced by new guidelines and actions that created friction with international partners. Brazil’s behavior towards South America was one of the areas most impacted by this shift. This paper reflects upon Bolsonaro’s foreign policy for the region, influenced by these changes and marked by disinterest on policymakers’ part, highlighting how ideational factors underpinned behaviors, actors, and actions.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Governance, Strategic Interests, and Stabilization
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

46. Towards a Pax Cubana: revolution, socialism and development in Havana’s Cold War foreign policy

Author:: Radoslav Yordanov
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This paper uses a wide array of original documents collected from Bulgarian, Czech, German, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian and Serbian diplomatic, party and security services archives, reflecting Havana’s foreign policy during the Cold War. The article’s narrative follows Cuba’s Cold War foreign policy in the 1970s. Through its multipolar archival research methodology, the paper aims to help us acquaint a more nuanced and fuller picture of the complex and evolving character of Cuba’s Cold War internationalism as seen through the eyes of Moscow’s East European allies, marking a clear departure from existing literature mostly engaging Soviet or American sources.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Cold War, Development, Revolution, and Socialism
Political Geography:: Cuba, Caribbean, and North America

47. Subnational policies and migration in the USA: post-national citizenship or sovereignty?

Author:: Marcelo de Almeida Medeiros, Lucas Jose de Brito Carvalho, and Felipe Ferreira de Oliveira Rocha
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This paper aims to: (i) investigate whether Republican legislatures were more inclined than Democratic ones to uphold laws of national sovereignty and whether Democratic legislatures were more likely than Republican ones to prioritise bills linked to the post-national perspective; (ii) assess the US migration laws by considering how state-level legal systems affect migrants’ lives. Using data from the National Conference of State Legislatures and Legiscan and techniques like clustering, statistical, and geospatial analysis, we found that bills sponsored by the Democratic Party are indeed more likely to belong to the post-national category than bills by the Republican Party.
Topic:: Sovereignty, Governance, Citizenship, and Subnationalism
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

48. From emergency to structure: ways to fight Covid-19 via international cooperation in health from Brazil

Author:: Andemar Pozzatti and Luiza Witzel Farias
Publication Date:: 03-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article argues the need for complementarity between emergency and structuring international cooperation in scenarios of health crises in developing countries. Through a review of contemporary literature and document analysis, it analyzes some aspects of the performance of global and Latin American institutions in the Covid-19 pandemic in light of this argument. It also makes a brief survey of forms of international cooperation that emerge from Brazil, with BRICS and Latin American partners, to fight the pandemic, which have a local and sectoral character: paradiplomacy, structuring networks and the role of local agents and health experts.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Public Health, Humanitarian Crisis, Pandemic, COVID-19, and Health Crisis
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

49. The institutionalized Buen Vivir: a new hegemonic political paradigm for Ecuador

Author:: Patricio Carpio Benalcazar, Francisco Javier Ullan de La Rosa, and Francisco Javier Ullan de La Rosa
Publication Date:: 02-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Buen Vivir has recently emerged in Latin America as an alternative societal model to the historical liberal (or neoliberal) and Marxist ones. The article focuses on its Ecuadorian variant and, more specifically, the institutionalized version embodied in the 2008 Constitution and the policies of the Citizens’ Revolution governments. This version is the particular result of the convergence of three different currents and has become the hegemonic ideology in the country. The article describes its main thematic axes and appraises its originality, as well as the theoretical and practical contributions.
Topic:: Political Theory, Governance, Hegemony, and Ideology
Political Geography:: South America and Ecuador

50. Artificial Intelligence and International System Structure

Author:: Oscar M. Granados and Nicolas De la Pena
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Previous studies have investigated technology’s impact on international affairs, but few have analyzed the effect of artificial intelligence on the international system structure. This study integrates heterogeneous datasets and network science concepts with several power factors and artificial intelligence advances as a methodology to understand the evolution of the international system with a perspective around research, knowledge, innovation, and technology as an endogenous variable. Our findings indicate that the international fitness variable could be considered as a mechanism to interpret the system dynamics, especially when artificial intelligence interacts with different topics of the system. Overall, we provide quantitative evidence of the evolution of artificial intelligence innovations and technological power to identify system structure changes, both in central and peripheral countries.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Innovation, Artificial Intelligence, and Emerging Technology
Political Geography:: Global Focus

51. Mobilizing Resources and Signaling Intentions: a Neoclassical Realist Analysis of Japan’s Domestic and International Instrumentalization of the Senkaku Islands Dispute and China’s Maritime Assertiveness

Author:: Alana Camoca Gonclaves de Oliveira
Publication Date:: 03-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Using a neoclassical realist model, this paper builds an analytical model to understand how countries are able to change or adjust their security and foreign policies. The article analyzes Japan’s foreign and security policies under the Shinzo Abe government, exploring how the Japanese government’s internal and international propaganda on Chinese maritime assertiveness and the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands issue influenced the government’s capacity to mobilize resources in order to transform security policies and legitimize Japan’s military role in the Asia Pacific.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Political Theory, Military Strategy, and Propaganda
Political Geography:: Japan, Asia, and Asia-Pacific

52. The challenge to US hegemony and the “Gilpin Dilemma”

Author:: Giorgio Romano Schutte
Publication Date:: 04-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article makes a comparison between the challenges faced by the US to maintain its hegemonic position at the end of the 1970s and in the 2010s. To do so we review Robert Gilpin’s writing during the first period. He suggested the US had three options: 1) a defensive protectionist reaction 2) fragmentation of the international system 3) a new wave of innovation, (“rejuvenation”). It is argued that the Reagan administration was able to establish support for the third option. We argue the US is now faced with the same dilemma again, but with a different kind of challenger: China.
Topic:: Foreign Direct Investment, Hegemony, Conflict, and Innovation
Political Geography:: China, Asia, North America, and United States of America

53. The Copenhagen School in South America: the (de)securitization of UNASUR (2008-2017)

Author:: Jose Antonio Sanahuja and Francisco Javier Verdes-Montenegro Escanez
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This paper examines the most significant processes of securitization and desecuritization occurring at the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) from its inception in 2008 until 2017, when UNASUR began to experience a gridlock. The analysis begins with the hypotheses of desecuritization of armed conflict among the South American countries, as well as their approach to problems drug-related. To this end, the paper is based on a critical theory of security with focus on securitization, and offers an expanded and/or discursive conception of security that goes beyond the military dimension.
Topic:: Security, Regional Cooperation, Military Strategy, and Regionalism
Political Geography:: South America

54. The demise of the INF Treaty: a path dependence analysis

Author:: Augusto C. Dall'Agnol and Marco Cepik
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article explains changes in strategic stability through a path dependence framework, discussing its antecedent conditions, increasing returns, cleavages, critical junctures, reactive sequences, and legacy. We identify the leading causes of its formation, reproduction, modification, and, eventually, its end. Such an analysis is relevant as far as we observe significant changes in cornerstone’s aspects of strategic stability after the abrogation of the ABM Treaty and the INF Treaty. We argue that strategic stability as an institution passes through radical modifications produced by reactive sequences breaking the causal loop that allowed its reproduction since its formation.
Topic:: Arms Control and Proliferation, Diplomacy, Military Strategy, and INF Treaty
Political Geography:: North America and United States of America

55. Paving the way to the Security Council: NGOs’ activism on women’s and children’s issues

Author:: Yamya Rocha Rebelo
Publication Date:: 12-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The relationship between the United Nations Security Council and Non- Governmental Organizations has scarcely been considered in scholarship on international security. This lack of academic interest contrasts with accounts on the engagement of NGOs in the production and advancement of UNSC discussions on women and children. By drawing on international relations and social movements’ theoretical contributions, the paper traces NGOs’ strategies to participate in UNSC thematic debates. By looking at the actions of the Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict and the NGO Working Group on Women, Peace, and Security, the analysis finds that NGOs have built coalitions among themselves and maintained networks with friendly countries and UN specialized agencies to capitalize on favorable political and institutional opportunities and expand the access to the security sector.
Topic:: Security, Gender Issues, United Nations, Children, Women, and NGOs
Political Geography:: Global Focus

56. Corporate influence and the global pandemic – reflections from the mining sector

Author:: Bonnie Campbell
Publication Date:: 11-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Power asymmetries offer a lens for understanding the reshaping of corporate strategies in the mining sector during the pandemic. Using a heterodox international political economy perspective, the first section of the article argues that regulatory frameworks are both the expression of structural power relations and a key instrument contributing to their reproduction. The second illustrates this by focusing on companies’ attempts to renegotiate fiscal concessions and keep mines open during the pandemic. The third examines how corporate actors have become directly involved in the delivery of health services and longer-term implications of such involvement. The conclusion identifies further research areas.
Topic:: Natural Resources, Mining, Corporations, and Influence
Political Geography:: Global Focus

57. Promoting health diplomacy in the fight against COVID-19: the case of Vietnam

Author:: Le Dinh Tinh and Nguyễn Tiền Thanh
Publication Date:: 09-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The global but uneven course of the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the importance of international cooperation and negotiation on such matters as financial assistance, medical equipment provision, vaccine development and distribution, and other pandemic response measures. This article will present a theoretical overview of “health diplomacy” and analyze the case of Vietnam within this framework, showing how the country’s political response to the pandemic demonstrates an increasingly proactive engagement in health diplomacy. The article argues that health diplomacy will become more relevant for international relations in the time to come and that the case of Vietnam might yield valuable lessons.
Topic:: Diplomacy, Health, Pandemic, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Asia and Vietnam

58. The Chinese South-South development cooperation: an assessment of its structural transformation

Author:: Javier Vadell, Giuseppe Lo Brutto, and Alexandre Cesar Cunha Leite
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This paper aims to analyze the Chinese cooperation with developing countries, its purposes, shapes and intentions in order to explore the peculiar characteristics of Chinese SSC. This work seeks to analyze whether the cooperation carried out by China with countries of the Global South fits the principles of South-South cooperation and if and how China is modifying the international aid regime.
Topic:: International Cooperation, Foreign Aid, and Development Aid
Political Geography:: China, Asia, and Global South

59. Development finance with Chinese characteristics: financing the Belt and Road Initiative

Author:: Hongsong Liu, Yue Xu, and Xinzhu Fan
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is clearly aimed at international development, and designed to jointly build a regional economic cooperation framework that is open, inclusive and balanced. Financial integration is the cornerstone of the BRI, and development finance is the most widely used mode of cooperation in financing. Development finance with Chinese characteristics is concessional and development-oriented, differing from Official Development Finance (ODF) defined by the OECD. Based on its development experiences, China applies development finance with Chinese characteristics to the BRI projects. This benefits countries along the Belt and Road by facilitating their sustainable development.
Topic:: International Cooperation, International Development, Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and Development Aid
Political Geography:: China and Global South

60. Patterns of Official Development Assistance in Tajikistan: effects on growth and poverty reduction

Author:: Mubinzhon Abduvaliev and Ricardo Bustillo
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The aim of this paper is to assess the effect of official development assistance on economic growth and poverty reduction in Tajikistan, as well as to examine the recent role of South-South Cooperation. We used a panel data set on economic growth and poverty estimates in Tajikistan, and found that a 1% increase of official development assistance provoked a 1.6% rise in per capita GDP and a 0.48% decrease in poverty levels in Tajikistan. Despite the increased relevance of South-South Cooperation in Tajikistan, the current bilateral cooperation pattern does not allow us to think South–South aid will create employment and growth opportunities.
Topic:: Poverty, Economic Growth, and Development Aid
Political Geography:: Central Asia and Tajikistan

61. Enlarging the donor base: an analysis of the World Food Programme’s reform process and the Brazilian bridge diplomacy

Author:: Thiago Lima and Jenifer Queila Santana
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Brazil became one of the world’s largest food donors after the WFP went through a reform process. The reform allowed non-traditional donors to donate food provided that other partners paid for logistical costs. We analyzed the reform process through documental analysis and interviews to understand Brazil’s role in this. The results show that both actors had complementary interests. However, whilst Brazil had ambitions of prominence in this area, it adopted a rule-taker position. The WFP’s Secretariat was the main driving force in the process and, to some extent, co-opted Brazil.
Topic:: Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation, Foreign Aid, Donors, and World Food Program (WFP)
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

62. From poverty reduction to global challenges, a new horizon for international development cooperation?

Author:: Philippe Andre Orliange
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, The Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda laid the foundations of a new system of international development cooperation in which middle income countries are playing an increasingly important role, National Development Banks are becoming key players although broadly consensual regulatory framework are still insufficient.
Topic:: Climate Change, Poverty, Finance, Sustainable Development Goals, International Development, and Banks
Political Geography:: Global Focus

63. The changing nature and architecture of U.S. democracy assistance

Author:: Luiza Rodrigues Mateo
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Democracy assistance is an important tool of United States foreign policy, serving strategic interests in association with several agendas, from human rights to national security. The objective of this article is to make a historical reconstruction of the definitions and practices of American democracy assistance, describing its institutional architecture, budgetary levels and political priorities. Special attention is given to U.S. foreign aid rationale and contemporary trends, recapturing the last thirty years of growth in democracy assistance since the end of the Cold War.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Foreign Aid, and Democracy
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

64. Epistemic hegemony: the Western straitjacket and post-colonial scars in academic publishing

Author:: Orion Noda
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The field of International Relations (IR) is barely ‘international’. Scholars have voiced their concerns and as a result, we have witnessed calls for diversity and inclusion in IR, be it in publication or in syllabi. Notwithstanding, the misrepresentation of non-Western scholars in the production of knowledge is significant. This article sheds light on the dynamics of publishing from a non-Western perspective and reinforces Post-Colonial epistemological critiques in IR. Based on the latest dataset from the International Studies Association (ISA)’s journals, this article argues that the current setting of IR journals is not suited for and receptive of non-Western scholars and epistemologies.
Topic:: International Relations, Post Colonialism, Academia, and Publishing
Political Geography:: Global Focus

65. National interests and the impact of student mobility: the case of Canada and Brazil

Author:: W. E. (Ted) Hewitt
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: While there is a growing literature on the trend towards international student mobility, few if any studies have focused on the relative impact of student exchange for promoting national interests and relationship building between specific countries. This study seeks to address this gap through an in-depth analysis of Brazil’s Science Without Borders programme and its implications for the country’s relationship with Canada. The study reveals that student mobility between the two countries effected by this programme provide significant advantage to both countries, not least of which will likely have positive implications for Canadian-Brazilian interaction.
Topic:: Science and Technology, Mobility, Higher Education, and Students
Political Geography:: Canada, Brazil, South America, and North America

66. Exploring Brazilian foreign policy towards women: dimensions, outcomes, actors and influences

Author:: Mónica Salomón
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Working Paper
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Mostly, although not exclusively under Workers’ Party governments (2003-2016), Brazil has carried out gender-sensitive, women-focused policies in at least three dimensions of its foreign policy: diplomacy, development cooperation, and security. This article examines the foreign-policy outcomes in those three dimensions and identifies the actors and influences responsible for them, with particular attention to the contribution of civil society organizations and the role of the Secretariat of Policies for Women, until recently the main Brazilian state-feminism agency at the federal level.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Gender Issues, Women, Feminism, and State
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

67. Compliance in “exceptional” trade disputes: a set-theoretical approach

Author:: Rodrigo Fagundes Cezar
Publication Date:: 12-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article uses the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) method to examine the combinations of conditions that explain the length of World Trade Organization (WTO) disputes that invoke General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs’ (GATT) General Exceptions (Article XX). Using the Brazil-EC controversy over retreaded tires as an example, the work underscores the importance of the mobilization of civil society organizations such as NGOs and think tanks in association with power asymmetry and/or veto players. The article contributes to understanding the causal complexity and empirical heterogeneity of “exceptional” disputes (disputes in which a party invokes GATT’s General Exceptions).
Topic:: Civil Society, World Trade Organization, Domestic Politics, Trade Wars, and Compliance
Political Geography:: Global Focus

68. The changing face of environmental governance in the Brazilian Amazon: indigenous and traditional peoples promoting norm diffusion

Author:: Veronika Miranda Chase
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Transnational networks of non-state actors are using ILO Convention No. 169 as a powerful instrument of environmental governance. The treaty promotes the norm of Free, Prior and Informed Consultation (FPIC), empowering local communities to influence infrastructure projects that impact their livelihoods and natural resources. However, there is a disconnect between the Brazilian government’s discourse and the effective implementation of this norm. Using document analysis and process tracing, this article investigates this rhetoric-practice gap. It argues that these transnational networks are diffusing the FPIC norm through Consultation Protocols, slowly bridging the gap.
Topic:: Environment, Treaties and Agreements, Governance, Transnational Actors, Indigenous, Norms, and Norm Diffusion
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

69. Global climate adaptation governance in the Amazon through a polycentricity lens

Author:: Fronika Claziena Agatha de Wit and Paula Martins de Freitas
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The 2015 Paris agreement has made adaptation to climate change a global goal and increased the polycentricity of the governance landscape. This study uses insights from polycentric governance theory to analyze the emergence of adaptation governance (AG) in Brazil and its implications for the state of Acre, situated in the Amazon region. By using a qualitative data analysis, including subnational climate policies and semi-structured interviews, we aim to analyze the advantages and challenges of polycentric AG in Acre and provide recommendations for improved AG in the region.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Treaties and Agreements, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Amazon Basin

70. South-South relations and global environmental governance: Brazilian international development cooperation

Author:: Kathryn Hochstetler and Cristina Yumie Aoki Inoue
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: South-South relations have become increasingly relevant for understanding global environmental governance in the 21st century. This article explores the socio-environmental contributions and impacts of Brazilian South-South cooperation for international development. Case studies of its international technical cooperation and the international project finance of BNDES show a mixed picture, with environmental benefits countered by environmental harms.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, Environment, Foreign Aid, Governance, and Emerging Powers
Political Geography:: Brazil

71. Climate governance and International Civil Aviation: Brazil's policy profile

Author:: Veronica Korber Gonçalves and Marcela Anselmi
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: After almost 20 years, states agreed at the ICAO on the creation of Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The article aims at analyzing the Brazilian role in the negotiations and presenting the debate about CORSIA in Brazil. CORSIA may encourage the expansion of offset projects in Brazil, changing local political dynamics and resulting in different environmental impacts.
Topic:: Climate Change, Environment, Governance, and Aviation
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Global Focus

72. Brazilian energy-related climate (in)action and the challenge of deep decarbonization

Author:: Larissa Basso
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: We present the challenge of deep decarbonization, the state of play of major economies regarding it, Brazilian outcomes compared to its peers and political struggles that help explain these outcomes. By identifying key actors, their interests and how they interact in domestic politics in issues that are key to deep decarbonization, we explain why Brazil, despite the potential to be ahead of its peers, has been moving backwards, and how Brazilian stances in the climate regime are influenced by it. The research is based on a qualitative analysis of extensive empirical data (primary and secondary sources).
Topic:: Climate Change, Energy Policy, G20, and Decarbonization
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

73. Japan: A Nuclear State?

Author:: Henrique Altemani de Oliveira
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Japan is often seen as pacifist and as a defender of nuclear disarmament. This article, though, sustains that Japan is basing its security on extended nuclear deterrence, and on the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons. In the first part of the article, the role of extended deterrence in the relationship with the U.S. is analyzed, and in the second, the history of the Japanese nuclear option since the end of the Second World War is reassessed.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons, Weapons, and Deterrence
Political Geography:: Japan and Asia

74. High expectations. Interregional agendas on global security challenges: East Asia, Europe and Latin America

Author:: Manuel R. Torres Soriano
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Interregionalism has been increasingly used to advance cooperation on regional and global security challenges. This study examines three interregional dialogues comprising East Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Each interregional security agenda reflects specific concerns and different evolving paths. Insights from ‘multilateral security governance’ approaches can reinforce the analysis of how security agendas emerge and change, and how their related norms and practices evolve.
Topic:: Security, International Affairs, Governance, and European Union
Political Geography:: Europe, East Asia, and Latin America

75. Chinese Cultural Diplomacy: instruments in China’s strategy for international insertion in the 21st Century

Author:: Danielly Silva Ramos Becard and Paulo Menechelli Filho
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article analyzes instruments of Chinese cultural diplomacy (2003-2018), such as the media, cinema, and the Confucius Institutes, as well as its potential to overcome barriers between states. China’s cultural soft power was studied in Confucius Institutes in the U.S.. The conclusion is that China increasingly used cultural diplomacy and turned it into a key instrument in its strategy for international insertion.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Soft Power, and Cultural Diplomacy
Political Geography:: China and Asia

76. The parting of the seas: norms, material power and state control over the ocean

Author:: Rodrigo Fracalossi de Moraes
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The paper argues that the norm of sovereignty was extended to sea areas with only minor adaptations. Using an English School approach, it explores the political evolution of control over the seas, demonstrating why and how the norm of sovereignty prevailed over alternative norms and principles regulating control of the seas. The paper then compares the positions of Brazil, China and the United States on the current international regime of the ocean.
Topic:: Sovereignty, Law, Maritime, and Jurisdiction
Political Geography:: Global Focus

77. Free trade agreements and regional alliances: support from Latin American legislators

Author:: Asbel Bohigues and José Manuel Rivas
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The creation of international organizations and the signature of free trade agreements have become common in Latin America. However, few studies have tackled the attitudes of political elites. This work aims to analyze the determinants of support by Latin American legislators for free trade agreements with the US and the EU, and for the Pacific Alliance and ALBA. Results show that ideology, pro-state/market positions, and trustworthiness vis-à-vis Chinese and Russian governments are the main predictors.
Topic:: Treaties and Agreements, Free Trade, and Elites
Political Geography:: Latin America

78. The challenge from the periphery: Latin America’s New Deals and the shaping of Liberal Internationalism in FDR’s Era

Author:: José Antonio Sanchez Roman
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: FDR’s policies, in particular the New Deal, became a sort of global brand, and created a transnational space of discussion. Many in the periphery, in particular in Latin America, appropriated the notion and labeled their own proposals as their own New Deals. These proposals produced an alternative international cooperative order, not necessarily the one wished by American elites. Latin America’s appropriation and reinterpretation of Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s message stirred controversies and disputes in the United States, within the liberal internationalist sectors, both in political positions and private actors. This article explores the reaction of certain U.S. liberal elites to the way Latin Americans appropriated and shaped international Rooseveltian ideas. It argues that some American internationalist elites feared that the way in which Latin Americans understood the New Deal and the Good Neighbor Policy might push development ideas abroad beyond the pale, as it might encourage the more radical stance of FDR administration at home, and it might jeopardize an American-led reorganization of the international order.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, International Order, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and New Deal
Political Geography:: Latin America, North America, and United States of America

79. A hemispheric moral majority: Brazil and the transnational construction of the New Right

Author:: Benjamin Arthur Cowan
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This essay posits Brazil as one critical locus for gestating the New Right. Often conceived of as a conservative reaction to the U.S. Civil Rights movement, the New Right actually developed transnationally, with determinative participation from Brazilian activists. In this article, I focus on a revelatory subset of those activists, who demonstrate collaboration that (1) linked elite reactionaries in Brazil, the United States, and elsewhere; (2) facilitated the rise of conservative Christianity as populist groundswell; and (3) transformed these two countries into power centers of a Right that adheres to the now-familiar Brazilian moniker “Bible, Bullets, and Beef.”
Topic:: Politics, Religious Right, and Neoconservatism
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, North America, and United States of America

80. “Pax Americana”: the United States and the transformation of the 20th century’s global order

Author:: Patrick O. Cohrs
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article seeks to re-appraise the transformation of America’s international role and its influence on the transformation of the 20th century’s global order. It focuses on a re-appraisal of US aspirations to construct a “Pax Americana” and their impact on an unprecedented peace system that was first conceptualised after 1918 but only consolidated after 1945: the cold war’s transatlantic peace order. Yet my analysis also highlights important distinctions between American conceptions and behaviour vis-à-vis Europe and the superpower’s more hierarchical and often neo-imperialist approaches to “global order” and other regions during the cold war, including East Asia and Latin America.
Topic:: Cold War, History, Peace, Transatlantic Relations, International Order, and Pax Americana
Political Geography:: Global Focus and United States of America

81. The impact of the 1949 Chinese Revolution on a Latin American Chinese community: shifting power relations in Havana’s Chinatown

Author:: Albert Manke
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article argues that, while initially constrained by U.S. Cold War policies both in the Americas and in Asia, China’s 1949 Communist Revolution could finally have a transformative impact on Latin American Chinese overseas community after the Cuban Revolution opened up new avenues for socialist influence in Latin America. By using new archival sources and interviews, we will analyze this changing impact by highlighting the intertwined layers of shifting power structures with a specific focus on the Chinese community in Cuba.
Topic:: Cold War, Communism, History, Diaspora, Revolution, and transnationalism
Political Geography:: China, Cuba, Latin America, and United States of America

82. Technology, politics, and development: domestic criticism of the 1975 Brazilian-West German nuclear agreement

Author:: James Cameron
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The article analyzes the domestic debate regarding the Brazil-West Germany nuclear agreement of 1975. A number of scientists and opposition politicians sought to use the apparent failings of the agreement to critique the military’s claims regarding the deal’s contribution to Brazilian economic development and nuclear status. While limited in its immediate impact, the opposition outlined major themes that would come to the fore later in the decade as Brazilian society began to question the wisdom of the agreement. Concerned with asserting Brazil’s nuclear autonomy, the opposition’s efforts also add a new dimension to global narratives of nuclear protest.
Topic:: Development, Nuclear Weapons, Science and Technology, Treaties and Agreements, and History
Political Geography:: Europe, Brazil, South America, and West Germany

83. Hybrid democracy: electoral rules and political competition in Afghanistan

Author:: Aureo Gomes
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Departing from the hybridity literature on peacebuilding and electoral studies, this paper treats democratization in Afghanistan as a hybridization process. As a result, to understand the durability of corruption, fragile political parties, and non-democratic practices in the country, one should look more closely at the interplay between the current electoral system and how elites and local people respond to it.
Topic:: Elections, Democracy, Peace, and Hybridization
Political Geography:: Afghanistan and South Asia

84. Debating US Military Strategy in the Persian Gulf: What is the Way Forward?

Author:: Eugenio Lilli
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Should the US strategy toward the Gulf be one of offshore balancing or one of deep engagement? The debate on US grand strategy lacks solid empirical ground. I address this issue by providing a study of the US´ role as the Gulf’s security provider. I investigate the extent to which distinct military strategies have affected the stability of the region. My findings show no clear correlation between increased US military presence and a reduction in either the incidence or the intensity of regional armed conflict, possibly lending credibility to the arguments of the advocates of a strategy of offshore balancing.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Military Strategy, Engagement, and Armed Conflict
Political Geography:: Persian Gulf and United States of America

85. Brazil and the European Union: from liberal inter-regionalism to realist bilateralism

Author:: Susanne Gratius
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Brazil-European Union relations punch below their weight. Cooperation takes place at three levels: relations with European Union (EU) member states, Brazil`s partnership with Brussels, and EU-MERCOSUR negotiations. This multilevel governance contrasts with poor results: there is no free trade agreement, development cooperation became irrelevant, and international positions rarely converge. The article explores the reasons for the underperformance by comparing foreign policy shifts in Brazil and the EU, and analyzing multilevel governance in selected sectors of cooperation. It is based on four assumptions: multilevel relations are uncoordinated, idealist inter-regionalism doesn’t work, and crisis-driven, liberal realist foreign policies in Brazil and the EU facilitate bilateralism.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, European Union, and Regionalism
Political Geography:: Europe, Brazil, and South America

86. Normative resistance to responsibility to protect in times of emerging multipolarity: the cases of Brazil and Russia

Author:: Anna Kotyashko, Laura Cristina Ferreira-Pereira, and Alena Vysotskaya Guedes Vieira
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article assesses the normative resistance to Responsibility to Protect adopted by Brazil and Russia against the backdrop of their international identities and self-assigned roles in a changing global order. Drawing upon the framework of Bloomsfield’s norm dynamics role spectrum, it argues that while the ambiguous Russian role regarding this principle represents an example of ‘norm antipreneurship’, particularities of Brazil’s resistance are better grasped by a new category left unaccounted for by this model, which this study portrays as ‘contesting entrepreneur’.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, United Nations, Responsibility to Protect (R2P), UN Security Council, and Normative Resistance
Political Geography:: Russia, Brazil, and Global Focus

87. Brazil in the global anticorruption regime

Author:: Marcos Tourinho
Publication Date:: 12-2018
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Brazilian anticorruption law and institutions were significantly transformed in recent decades. This article traces those transformations and explains how the international anticorruption and money laundering regimes contributed to their development. It argues that those international regimes were internalised in the Brazilian system through three mechanisms: inspiration and legitimation, coercion, and implementation support, and were critical to the transformation of Brazilian institutions.
Topic:: Corruption, Governance, and Financial Crimes
Political Geography:: Brazil, South America, and Global Focus

88. The role of Brazil in multilateral disarmament efforts

Author:: Sérgio de Queiroz Duarte
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article examines Brazil’s motivations, objectives, and action in international instances related to nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and arms control, particularly the Treaty of Tlatelolco and the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The paper describes the evolution of Brazilian attitudes and decisions and discusses prospects for nuclear disarmament opened by the proposal of a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Nuclear Weapons, Disarmament, Nonproliferation, Multilateralism, and Institutions
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

89. Grand Strategy and Peace Operations: the Brazilian Case

Author:: João Paulo S. Alsina Júnior
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article aims to contribute to the analysis of Brazilian grand strategy and the place of UN peace operations (POs) in the context of this strategy. It deals with the political economy of POs and grapples with the trends of POs in the recent past, especially the increasingly robust mandates of peace operations and their implications. Brazilian participation in peace operations is discussed, focusing on its main characteristics and the consequences of an absence of consensus on the role of POs for the country´s grand strategy. Finally, suggestions are proposed that might create synergies between participation in POs and Brazil´s grand strategy.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Grand Strategy, and Peace
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

90. The South American Defense Council: the Building of a Community of Practice for Regional Defense

Author:: Marina Gisela Vitelli
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: While the South American Defense Council has been analyzed as a security community, we argue that it is best described as an early stage community of practice, since it has successfully set in motion a regular interaction dynamic between numerous defense actors, as we demonstrate with concrete examples. We further discuss political support as a prerequisite for regional defense identity.
Topic:: Security, Diplomacy, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: South America

91. Brazil’s Nuclear Submarine: A Broader Approach to the Safeguards Issue

Author:: Eugenio Pacelli Lazzarotti Diniz Costa
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The article discusses the issue of nuclear-propelled submarines as a nuclear non-proliferation question, addresses the issue of safeguards procedures and arrangements, and suggests a broader, political approach to allay international concerns. Such safeguards arrangement would set the precedent for future arrangements, and particularly if integrated into a more comprehensive approach, might strengthen Brazil’s hand in nuclear negotiations, including on disarmament.
Topic:: Nuclear Weapons, Nonproliferation, Maritime, and Submarines
Political Geography:: Brazil, Argentina, and South America

92. Brazilian Hybrid Security in South America

Author:: Rafael Duarte Villa
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Existing research on security governance in South America functions on dichotomous lines. Analysis of Brazil’s security practices is a case in point. On the one hand, scholars point out the balance of power and hegemonic institutions as the main discourse in the security practices between Brazil and its South American neighbors. On the other hand, some other emphasize the importance of democracy, cooperation on defense and security, and peaceful conflict resolution between states in the region as indicators for the emergence of a security community between Brazil and its neighbors in the South American region. The way in which multiple orders coexist is not given adequate attention in empirical research. This article seeks to overcome this dichotomy. By foregrounding Brazil’s regional security practices, particularly during the Lula and Rousseff administration, I show the hybrid and sometimes ambivalent security governance system in Brazil, where mechanisms of balance of power and security community overlap in important ways.
Topic:: Security, Defense Policy, Regional Cooperation, and Governance
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

93. Managing Security in a Zone of Peace: Brazil´s Soft Approach to Regional Governance

Author:: Andrés Malamud and Isabella Alcañiz
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Given Brazil’s regional prevalence, its low, late and soft investment in regional security governance appears puzzling. We approach the puzzle through an analysis of contextual features, institutional overlap and policy networks, especially regarding nuclear energy and the environment. Our findings show that Brazil’s behavior is explained by a combination of low regional risks, scarce domestic resources, a legalistic regional culture of dispute settlement, and transgovernmental networks that substitute for formal interstate cooperation and deep regional institutions.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Regional Cooperation, and Governance
Political Geography:: Brazil and Latin America

94. Global justice and environmental governance: an analysis of the Paris Agreement

Author:: Marcelo Santos
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Working Paper
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Based on the major normative political theory contributions on global climate justice, the present paper analyzes the new international agreement on climate change, adopted at COP 21 in Paris (2015). Therefore, a literary review of the extensive normative theoretical discussion about global climate justice is made, with special attention to the two approaches that have permeated multilateral political negotiations - historical responsibility and equal per capita emissions. From this normative discussion, this paper recalls the global climate change negotiation process, focusing on the Kyoto Protocol. Next, the analysis emphasizes on the Paris Agreement in an effort to evaluate the normative questions on justice and equity within the environmental governance regime. Finally, the set of conclusions indicates that, although the flexibility of the Agreement has encompassed some dimensions of responsibility, necessity and ability to bear the costs, the most complex dimensions of justice and equity has not been completely solved, which may hinder the operation of environmental governance in a near future.
Topic:: Climate Change, Governance, Justice, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:: Global Focus

95. The weight of ideology on the attitude of Latin American countriestoward the United States

Author:: João Carlos Amoroso Botelho and Vinícius Silva Alves
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: The article tests the effect of ideology on the attitude of Latin American countries toward the United States, as well as alternative explanations, to respond to the expectation that left-wing governments are critical of the US and right-wing governments are friendly. The findings are that the alternative explanations are less relevant and that ideology has the expected effect.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Politics, and Ideology
Political Geography:: Latin America, North America, and United States of America

96. International Leadership as a Process: The case of China in Southeast Asia

Author:: Truong-Minh Vu
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Leadership theory in IR still lacks a coherent approach, and it is analytically useful to use eclectic lenses by combining all factors related to power and the usage of power to gain leadership status. I define the term "international leadership" as a process in which a state mobilizes its resources to influence a group of other states (followership) in order to achieve a common goal. In the empirical investigation, I will focus on China's abilities to lead in Southeast Asia. Despite the fact that there are many advantages for China, the mechanism of transforming power resources into regional leadership is still questionable.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Leadership, International Relations Theory, and Emerging Powers
Political Geography:: China, Brazil, and Latin America

97. Brazilian Foreign Policy Towards Internet Governance

Author:: Maurício Santoro and Bruno Borges
Publication Date:: 12-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: Snowden´s whistleblowing on the NSA program had a powerful impact in Brazil, prompting Dilma Rousseff´s administration to promote, at the United Nations, resolutions on Internet privacy, freedom of expression, as well as to host important multistakeholder conferences and, domestically, to approve the innovative legislation known as Marco Civil. These answers were only possible due to a network of officials and activists. However, Brazil´s global leadership in Internet governance is fragile, with many internal contradictions.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Governance, and Internet
Political Geography:: Brazil and South America

98. Many Worlds, Many Theories, Many Rules: Formulating an Ethical System for the World to Come

Author:: Nicholas Onuf
Publication Date:: 12-2016
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: There are many ways to speak about the modern world, and many theories setting it apart. I focus on a world facing economic decline and a return to the status-ordering of traditional societies. With republican theory as a backdrop, I show that an updated virtue ethics constitutes an ethical system uniquely suiting any society that is significantly status-ordered.
Topic:: International Relations, Ethics, and International Relations Theory
Political Geography:: Global Focus

99. Towards the Global Study of International Relations

Author:: Andrew Hurrell
Publication Date:: 12-2016
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article reviews recent critiques of the wester-centrism of mainstream International Relations. It argues that the overriding challenge is to try to move beyond critique and to develop a global study of international relations that insists on the importance of the systemic, of the global, but that also takes the critiques seriously and builds on them productively.
Topic:: International Relations, International Relations Theory, Academia, Eurocentrism, and Area Studies
Political Geography:: Global Focus

100. Many worlds, many nature(s), one planet: indigenous knowledge in the Anthropocene

Author:: Cristina Yumie Aoki Inoue and Paula Franco Moreira
Publication Date:: 12-2016
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional (RBPI)
Institution:: Instituto Brasileiro de Relações Internacionais (IBRI)
Abstract:: This article explores the idea of many nature(s) and its implication for the studies of global environmental politics. It discusses the inadequacy of the nature-society dichotomy and argues for epistemological parity, as well as for the recovery of indigenous knowledge systems. Looking at indigenous knowledge uncovers many ways to consider nature and contributes to recast global environmental studies in the Anthropocene.
Topic:: Environment, Politics, Indigenous, Nature, and Hybridization
Political Geography:: Brazil and Global Focus

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS