Mistaking Brazil for a Middle Power

Abstract

This paper argues that Brazil can only be classified as a middle power by engaging in what Sartori criticized as the process of conceptual stretching. Moreover, it is argued that Brazil neither sees itself as a middle power, nor conducts itself as one despite superficial appearances. After the context is set with a survey of thinking on middle power theory, attention is turned to explaining how Brazil might be mistaken for a middle power before explaining in more detail why the country is not one. Evidence is drawn from Brazil's multilateral engagement in institutions such as the WTO, the inter-American system, the NPT, and the wider context of global development. Ultimately the paper advises policy-makers and academics against using the concept of middle power as a conceptual guide or shortcut to understanding Brazil.

Keywords::

• Brazil
• Itamaraty
• Middle Power
• Emerging Power
• International Relations
• South-South

Notes

^1. Andrew Hurrell, ‘Hegemony, Liberalism and Global Order: What Space for Would-be Great Powers?’, International Affairs, 82:1, 2006, p. 3.

^2. Eduard Jordaan, ‘The Concept of a Middle Power in International Relations: Distinguishing Between Emerging and Traditional Middle Powers’, Politikon, 30:2, November 2003, pp. 165-81; Daniel Flemes, ‘“Emerging Middle Powers” Soft Balancing Strategy: State and Perspectives of the IBSA Dialogue Forum’, GIGA Working Papers, 57, August 2007; Janis van der Westhuizen, ‘Class Compromise as Middle Power Activism? Comparing Brazil and South Africa’, Government and Opposition, 48:1, January 2013, pp. 80-100; Walter Russell Mead, ‘Terrible Twins: Turkey, Brazil and the Future of American Foreign Policy’, Walter Russell Mead's Blog, The American Interest, 5 June 2010: http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2010/06/05/terrible-twins-turkey-brazil-and-the-future-of-american-foreign-policy/, 8 February 2013.

^3. Giovanni Sartori, ‘Concept Misinformation in Comparative Politics’, The American Political Science Review, 64:4, December 1970, p. 1035.

^4. Celso Lafer, A Identidade Internacional do Brasil e a Política Externa Brasileira: Pasado, Presente e Futuro, São Paulo, Editora Perspectiva, 2001.

^5. Gelson Fonseca, Jr., A Legitimidade e Outras Questões Internacionais: Poder e Ética Entre as Nações 2^nded., São Paulo, Editora Paz e Terra, 2004.

^6. Tullo Vigevani and Gabriel Cepaluni, Brazilian Foreign Policy in Changing Times: The Quest for Autonomy from Sarney to Lula, Lanham, MD, Lexington Books, 2009.

^7. Jordaan, ‘The Concept of a Middle Power in International Relations.’

^8. Carsten Holbraad, ‘The Role of Middle Powers’, School of International Affairs, Carleton University Occasional Papers Series, no. 18, March 1972, p. 4.

^9. Ibid. pp. 4-5; Carsten Holbraad, Middle Powers in International Politics, London, Macmillan, 1984, pp. 11-14; John W. Holmes, ‘Is There a Future or Middlepowermanship?’ in John W. Holmes (ed.), The Better Part of Valour: Essays on Canadian Diplomacy, Toronto, McClelland and Stewart, 1970.

^10. Holbraad, Middle Powers in International Politics, chapter 3.

^11. Holmes, ‘Is There a Future for Middlepowermanship?’ pp. 17-18.

^12. Monica Herz and João Pontes Nogueira, Ecuador vs. Peru: Peacemaking amid Rivalry, Boulder, CO, Lynne Rienner, 2002; Bruce W Farcau, The Chaco War: Bolivia and Paraguay, 1932-1935, London, Praeger, 1996.

^13. Robert W. Cox, ‘Middlepowermanship, Japan, and Future World Order’, in Robert W. Cox with Timothy Sinclair (eds), Approaches to World Order, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1996, pp. 241-43.

^14. Alan K. Henrikson, ‘Middle Powers as Managers: International Mediation Within, Across, and Outside Institutions’, in Andrew F. Cooper (ed.), Niche Diplomacy: Middle Powers After the Cold War, New York, St. Martin's Press, 1997, pp. 46-47.

^15. Jordaan, ‘The Concept of a Middle Power’, pp. 167-169.

^16. Andrew F. Cooper, Richard A. Higgott, and Kim Richard Nossal, Relocating Middle Powers: Australia and Canada in a Changing World Order, Vancouver, UBC Press, 1993.

^17. Andrew F. Cooper and Richard A. Higgott, ‘Middle Power Leadership in the International Order: An Issue-Specific Model for the 1990s’, The Centre for International Trade and Investment Policy Studies Work Paper Series 92-01, no date, pp. 13-14.

^18. Cooper, Higgott and Nossal, Relocating Middle Powers.

^19. Ibid., pp. 5-13.

^20. Jock A. Finlayson and Ann Weston, ‘The GATT, Middle Powers and the Uruguay Round’, No. 5 in the Middle Powers in the International System Series, Ottawa, North-South Institute, 1990.

^21. Cornelia Huelsz, ‘Middle Power Theories and Emerging Powers in International Political Economy: A Case Study of Brazil’, PhD Diss., University of Manchester, 2009, Chapter 1.

^22. Andrew F. Cooper, ‘Nice Diplomacy: A Conceptual Overview’, in Andrew F. Cooper, (ed.), Niche Diplomacy: Middle Powers After the Cold War, New York, St. Martin's Press, 1997, p. 8.

^23. Andreas Hasenclever, Peter Mayer, and Volker Rittberger, Theories of International Regimes, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1997; Thomas Pedersen, ‘Cooperative Hegemony: Power, Ideas, and Institutions in Regional Integration’, Review of International Studies, 28, 2002, pp. 677-96.

^24. Denis Stairs, ‘Of Medium Powers and Middling Roles’, in Ken Booth (ed.), Statecraft and Security: The Cold War and Beyond, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1998.

^25. This is an underlying theme in Celso Amorim, Conversas com Jovens Diplomatas, São Paulo, Editora Benvirá, 2011, chapter three, ‘O perigo de ficarmos só voltados para o ideal é a ireelevância. O de estarmos totalmente voltados para o realismo é a inação’.

^26. Jordaan, ‘The Concept of a Middle Power’, p. 176.

^27. John Ravenhill, ‘Cycles of Middle Power Activism: Constraint and Choice in Australian and Canadian Foreign Policies’ Australian Journal of International Affairs 52:3, 1998, pp. 309-27

^28. Andrés Malamud, ‘A Leader Without Followers? The Growing Divergence Between the Regional and Global Performance of Brazilian Foreign Policy’, Latin American Politics and Society, 53:3, Fall 2011, pp. 1-24.

^29. Andrew Hurrell, ‘Hegemony, Liberalism and Global Order: What Space for Would-be Great Powers?’, International Affairs, 82:1, 2006, pp. 1-19.

^30. When the first version of this paper was presented at the 2011 Latin America and the Shifting Sands of Global Power conference the ranking Brazilian diplomat in the room directly and explicitly told the author ‘We are not a “middle” power’.

^31. Hurrell, ‘Hegemony’, p. 2.

^32. Malamud, ‘A Leader Without Followers?’.

^33. Cristina Yumie Aoki Inoue and Alcides Costa Vaz, ‘Brazil as “Southern donor”: Beyond Hierarchy and National Interests in Development Cooperation?’, Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 25:4, 2012, pp. 507-34.

^34. Ben Ross Schneider, ‘Big Business in Brazil: Leveraging Natural Endowments and State Support for International Expansion’, in Lael Brainard and Leonardo Martinez-Diaz, (eds), Brazil as an Economic Superpower? Understanding Brazil's Changing Role in the Global Economy, Washington DC, Brookings Institution Press, 2009.

^35. Paulo Fagundes Visentini, ‘Prestige Diplomacy, Southern Solidarity or “Soft Imperialism?” Lula's Brazil-Africa Relations (2003 onwards)’, in Denis Rolland and Antônio Carlos Lessa, (eds), Relations Internationales du Brésil: Les Chemins de la Puissance vol. 2, Aspects Régionaux et Thématiques, Paris, L'Harmattan, 2010; Jerry Dávila, Hotel Trópico:Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization, 1950–1980, Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 2010; José Flávio Sombra Saraiva, África parceira do Brasil atlântico: Relações internacionais do Brasil e da África no início do século XXI, Belo Horizonte, Brazil, Fino Traço Editora, 2012.

^36. Malamud, ‘A Leader Without Followers?’, p. 14.

^37. Carlos Mesa, ‘Bolívia e Brasil: Os Meandros do Caminho’, Política Externa, 20:2, September-November 2011, pp. 23-42.

^38. James Lamont, ‘BRIC Euro Rescue: A Rush Job?’, 14 September 2011, Financial Times, http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2011/09/14/bric-euro-rescue-a-rush-job/, accessed 31 January 2013.

^39. Diego Santos Vieira de Jesus, ‘Building Trust and Flexibility: A Brazilian View of the Fuel Swap with Iran’, The Washington Quarterly, 34:2, 2011, pp. 61-75; Demétrio Magnoli, ‘Atenção, Dilma, ele assina em teu nome’, O Estado de São Paulo, 18 August 2011.

^40. For example, see Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ‘Discurso do Presidente da República, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, durante reunião plenária dos Ministros da Fazenda do G-20 Financeiro’, São Paulo, 8 November 2008, www.fazenda.gov.br, accessed 12 September 2011

^41. Maria Regina Soares de Lima and Mónica Hirst, ‘Brazil as an Intermediate State and Regional Power: Action, Choice and Responsibilities’, International Affairs, 82:1, 2006, pp. 21-40.

^42. Jean Daudelin and Sean Burges, ‘Moving In, Carving Out, Proliferating: The Many Faces of Brazil's Multilateralism Since 1990’, Pensamiento Propio, 33, January-June 2011, pp. 35-64.

^43. Luiz Felipe Lampreia, ‘Brasil comete erro de avaliação em Honduras’, Política Externa, 18:3, Dez/Jan/Fev 2009/2010, pp. 117-122; Marco Aurelio Garcia, ‘O que está em jogo em Honduras’, Política Externa, 18:3, Dez/Jan/Fev 2009/2010, pp. 123-30.

^44. Sean Burges, ‘Canada's Postcolonial Problem: the United States and Canada's International Policy Review’, Canadian Foreign Policy, 13:1, 2006, pp. 97-112.

^45. Vigevani and Cepaluni, Brazilian Foreign Policy in Changing Times; Sean Burges, Brazilian Foreign Policy After the Cold War, Gainnesville, FL, University Press of Florida, chapter 3.

^46. Amrita Narlikar, ‘The Ministerial Process and Power Dynamics in the World Trade Organization: Understanding Failure from Seattle to Cancun’, New Political Economy, 9:3, September 2004, pp. 413-28; Amrita Narlikar and Diana Tussie, ‘The G20 and the Cancun Ministerial: Developing Countries and their Evolving Coalitions in the WTO’, The World Economy, 27:7, 2004, pp. 947-66.

^47. Celso Amorim, ‘Statement by Minister Celso Amorim at the G-90 Meeting’, Georgetown, Guyana, 3 June 2004.

^48. Marcos C. de Azambuja, ‘A Brazilian Perspective on Nuclear Disarmament’, in Barry M Blechman (ed.), Brazil, Japan, and Turkey, New York, The Henry Stimson Center, 2009, p. 14.

^49. Luiz Felipe Lampreia, Diplomacia Brasileira: Palavras, Contextos e Razões, Rio de Janeiro, Lacerda Editores, 1999, pp. 383-89.

^50. Amorim, Coversas com jovem diplomatas, pp. 279-310.

^51. Jamil Chade, ‘Brasil recusará acordo com a AIEA, diz Jobim’, O Estado de São Paulo, 12 March 2010.

^52. Carlo Patti, ‘Brazil and the Nuclear Issues in the Years of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Government (2003-2010)’, Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, 53:2, 2010, pp. 178-197.

^53. Santos, ‘Building Trust and Flexibility’.

^54. Denise Chrispim Marin and Lisandra Paraguassu, ‘Irã seque tema incômodo no diálogo Brasil-EUA’, O Estado de São Paulo, 18 March 2011.

^55. Paulo Roberto de Almeida, ‘O Brasil no Contexto da Governança Global’, Cadernos Adenauer, 9:3, 2009, pp. 199-219.

^56. Ricardo Carciofi, ‘Cooperation for the Provision of Regional Public Goods: The IIRSA Case’, in Pía Riggirozzi and Diana Tussie, (eds), The Rise of Post-Hegemonic Regionalism: The Case of Latin America, London, Spinger, 2012.

^57. Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, ‘Discurso do Presidente da República, Luiz Inácioa Lula da Silva, durante reunião plenária dos ministros de fazenda do G-20 Financeiro’, São Paulo, 8 November 2008, www.fazenda.gov.br, accessed 12 September 2011.

^58. Alexandre Antonio Tombini, ‘Discurso do Presidente do Banco Central do Brasil, Senhor Alexandre Antonio Tombini, Cerimônia de Posse do Presidente do Conselho Diretor da Federação Brasileira de Bancos, Senhor Fábio Colletti Barboso e do novo Presidente Executivo de Febraban, Senhor Muilo Portugal,’ São Paulo, 17 March 2011.

^59. Eduardo Campos, ‘Será que os Brics podem salvar o mundo?’, Valor Econômico (São Paulo), 14 September 2011.

^60. Tânia Monteiro, ‘Dilma sinaliza, em Coimbra, ajuda a Portugal’, O Estado de São Paulo, 29 March 2011.

^61. Assiss Moreira, ‘China decidirá ajuda de Brics a europeus’, Valor Econômico (São Paulo), 14 September 2011.

^62. Almeida, ‘O Brasil no Contexto da Governança Global’.