Regionalism as an Instrument: Assessing Brazil's Relations with its Neighbourhood

Abstract

This article aims to understand the basic characteristics of regionalism in Brazilian foreign policy. For this purpose, it goes over the recent history of Brazilian involvement in regional trade and security arrangements in South America. It also examines the manner in which economic uncertainties, brought about by the 2008–2009 global financial crisis, affected Brazilian foreign policy towards its region. Based on this historical analysis, it defines five key aspects that characterise Brazilian behaviour in the region, namely: post-democratisation regionalism; presidential regionalism; reactive regionalism; concentric/multilevel regionalism; and instrumental regionalism.

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Brian Malczyk (University of Toronto) for proofreading.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

About the Authors

Elena Lazarou is Assistant Professor of International Relations at the School of Social Sciences (CPDOC), Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV), Rio de Janeiro, and Head of FGV's Centre for International Relations. She is also a Research Associate at ELIAMEP, Athens. She holds a PhD in International Studies and an MPhil in European Studies from the University of Cambridge.

Bruno Theodoro Luciano is Konrad Adenauer Fellow in European Studies at the Centre for International Relations, Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV). He holds an MA in International Relations from the University of Brasília (UnB). His work focuses on regional integration, mainly on the European Union, South America and MERCOSUR and on the role of direct elections in regional parliaments.

Notes

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28. Idem.

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32. Ibid.

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40. Opera Mundi, op. cit.

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47. Dawisson Lopes, “Recuo estratégico ou normalização da curva?”, Folha de S. Paulo, 17 March 2014.

48. Malamud, “Presidentialism and Mercosur”, op. cit.

49. Ibid.

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53. Andrew Moravcsik, “Preferences and Power in the European Community: A Liberal Intergovernmentalist Approach”, Journal of Common Market Studies, 30th Anniversary Edition, Vol. 31, No. 4, (December 1993), pp. 473–524.

54. Vigevani and Ramanzini, op. cit., p. 459.

55. Flemes, “A visão Brasileira da futura ordem global”, op. cit.

56. For more on presidential diplomacy in Brazil, see Marco Vieira, “Ideias e Instituições: Uma Reflexão sobre a PEB do Início da década de 90”, Contexto Internacional, Vol. 23, No. 2 (2001), pp. 245–293.

⁵⁷Vigevani and Ramanzini, op. cit., p. 451.

58. Susanne Gratius and Miriam Saraiva, “Continental Regionalism: Brazil's Prominent Role in the Americas”, CEPS Working Document 374 (February 2013), p. 1.

59. Malamud, “A Leader without Followers?”, op. cit., p. 19.

60. Gratius and Saraiva, op. cit., p. 3.

61. Ibid., p. 8.

62. Ibid., p. 10.

63. Malamud and Gardini, op. cit.

64. Vigevani and Ramanzini, op. cit., p. 461.

65. Saraiva, “Novas abordagens”, op. cit.

66. Gratius and Saraiva, op. cit., p. 2.

67. Vigevani and Ramanzini, op. cit., p. 465.

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69. Oliver Stuenkel and Marcos Tourinho, “Regulating Intervention: Brazil and the Responsibility to Protect”, Conflict, Security & Development (2014), pp. 379–402.

70. Malamud and Gardini, op. cit., p. 129.

71. Marco Vieira and Chris Alden, “India, Brazil, and South Africa (IBSA): South-South Cooperation and the Paradox of Regional Leadership”, Global Governance, Vol. 17, No. 4 (2011), pp. 507–528.

72. Oliver Stuenkel, “BRICS Summit is Chance to Strengthen Brazil's Global and Regional Ties”, available: <http://www.postwesternworld.com/2014/06/11/strengthen-brazils-regional/> (accessed 7 July 2014).

73. Gratius and Saraiva, op. cit., p. 10.

74. Matias Spektor, “Ideias de ativismo regional: a transformação das leituras brasileiras da região”, Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional, Vol. 53, No. 1 (2010), pp. 25–44.

75. Ibid., p. 454.

Additional information

Funding

The research that went into this article was supported by the Brazilian National Council for Research (CNPq) [grant number 483426/2012-1].