Historically, Brazil has oscillated between alignment with the United States and a major rapprochement with Global South countries. In this chapter, we argue that a change of trend can be observed, from the Americanist approach, dominant in the first half of the twentieth century, to the globalist paradigm that has gained more and more primacy to the present, even though this path has not been linear. From now on, which way can be expected for Brazil to follow? Our argument is that, for structural reasons, the future of Brazilian foreign policy lies within the Global South. We employ a historical analysis to examine the trajectory of Brazilian foreign policy, its changes and continuities, and the alternation of foreign policy orientation and reorientation over time, observing the tendency of Brazil leaning toward the Global South. We depart from a structuralist theoretical point of view to analyse the dynamic of global interactions between North (Americanism) and South (periphery and the Global South) while emphasising common economic and political features that bond Global South countries in the international system. China and other emerging industrialised economies have been increasing their economic weight and political influence and articulating themselves in international multilateral institutions such as the BRICS and the BRICS Plus, a process in which Brazil has been playing a leading role. In a context of academic debates over multipolarity and crisis in the liberal international order, it is important to discuss Brazil’s position in an international context of increasing tensions between the West and the Global South.

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The “Standing in Two Boats” Dilemma in Brazil’s Geopolitical Trajectory

  • Italo Barreto Poty,
  • Xing Li

摘要

Historically, Brazil has oscillated between alignment with the United States and a major rapprochement with Global South countries. In this chapter, we argue that a change of trend can be observed, from the Americanist approach, dominant in the first half of the twentieth century, to the globalist paradigm that has gained more and more primacy to the present, even though this path has not been linear. From now on, which way can be expected for Brazil to follow? Our argument is that, for structural reasons, the future of Brazilian foreign policy lies within the Global South. We employ a historical analysis to examine the trajectory of Brazilian foreign policy, its changes and continuities, and the alternation of foreign policy orientation and reorientation over time, observing the tendency of Brazil leaning toward the Global South. We depart from a structuralist theoretical point of view to analyse the dynamic of global interactions between North (Americanism) and South (periphery and the Global South) while emphasising common economic and political features that bond Global South countries in the international system. China and other emerging industrialised economies have been increasing their economic weight and political influence and articulating themselves in international multilateral institutions such as the BRICS and the BRICS Plus, a process in which Brazil has been playing a leading role. In a context of academic debates over multipolarity and crisis in the liberal international order, it is important to discuss Brazil’s position in an international context of increasing tensions between the West and the Global South.