Brazil’s non-indifference: a case for a feminist diplomatic agenda or geopolitics as usual?

ABSTRACT

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, Brazil took advantage of its economically and politically privileged position to challenge global normative structures. In 2004, the concept of “non-indifference” was integrated into the Brazilian vocabulary of foreign policy, justifying and legitimating the country’s acceptance of the invitation to command the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). On the one hand, non-indifference can be read as a discursive maneuver that enabled Brazil to accommodate its non-interventionist agenda to an old geopolitical game, given the pressure imposed upon “global players” to respond effectively and assertively to threats to international peace and security. On the other hand, the “Brazilian way” could also be seen as an alternative to a highly masculinized geopolitical approach to international security. This paper explores possible limitations, tensions and/or opportunities that emerge from the encounter between a feminist diplomatic agenda and a masculinizing ordering of the international space. It does so by contrasting Brazil’s ambition for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the club of powerful states, with Brazil’s diplomatic and military performance during MINUSTAH, widely evaluated as a success due to characteristics such as solidarity, generosity, flexibility and the “warm conviviality” of Brazilian culture.

KEYWORDS:

• Brazilian diplomacy
• non-indifference
• MINUSTAH
• international security
• feminist geopolitics

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Francine Rossone de Paula has a PhD in Political and Cultural Thought from Virginia Tech (ASPECT Department), Blacksburg, VA, USA.

Notes

1 BRICS is an association of five states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) that have shared the status of emerging economic powers at the beginning of the twenty-first century. The IBSA Dialogue Forum was founded in 2003 as a platform for India, Brazil and South Africa to cooperate and promote coordination on global issues. G20 is a bloc of developing nations established on 20 August 2003 in the context of the negotiations in the Fifth Ministerial World Trade Organization conference held in Cancún, Mexico.

2 From 2003 to 2013, optimistic analyses about Brazil and its economic and political position as an emerging global player still prevailed in magazines, books, scholarly journals and other venues. In 2013, a political crisis and a shrinking economy started shifting the scenario and the narratives about the country’s role in international politics.

3 The Swedish Foreign Service action plan for feminist foreign policy 2015–18 including focus areas for 2017 is available at: http://www.government.se/4990fa/contentassets/bca76b4547ad46fb929ece47e7cfe26d/swedish-foreign-service-action-plan-for-feminist-foreign-policy-2015-2018-including-focus-areas-for-2017.pdf. Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy is available at: http://international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/priorities-priorites/policy-politique.aspx?lang=eng

4 Article 42 of Chapter VII of the UN Charter authorizes the UNSC to take action by air, sea or land forces in order to maintain or restore international peace and security when measures provided for in Article 41, such as economic sanctions, prove to be inadequate. Chapter VII of the UN Charter is available at: http://www.un.org/en/sections/un-charter/chapter-vii/

5 Although UNIFIL and MONUSCO have also been considered peculiar cases in the history of Brazil’s contribution to UN missions, this paper focuses on the role of MINUSTAH in the country’s diplomatic agenda. MINUSTAH is considered the most significant peacekeeping commitment to date, in numbers of troops deployed by the country and of Brazilian force commanders in charge during the mission. Comparative data of Brazil’s contribution to UN peacekeeping operations is available at: http://www.providingforpeacekeeping.org/2014/04/03/contributor-profile-brazil/

6 Multidimensional operations prioritize the protection of civilians in UNSC mandates as well as the conditions for post-conflict reconstruction of political, economic and civil institutions. The elements of a multidimensional operation started to be included in UNSC mandates after the publication of the Brahimi Report (2000).

7 Since the military coup that overthrew the government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide (the first popularly elected president in Haitian history) on 30 September 1991, the international community has been unsuccessfully calling for the restoration of democracy and sustainable peace in the country. On 31 July 1994, UNSC passed Resolution 940, the first one authorizing the use of force to restore democracy in a member nation. The intervention was known as Operation Uphold Democracy. Many Latin American countries, including Brazil, opposed the resolution.

8 The “Brazilian way” is probably not unique. What I aim to highlight is the emphasis in the literature and official statements on this particular self-representation of Brazil as capable of a more horizontal kind of interaction. The passion for football (soccer), shared African roots and the historical and geographical connections between Brazil and Haiti have all been discursively used as way to legitimize and justify the presence of Brazilian soldiers in Haiti as brothers who were there extending a hand, instead of as a disciplining father.

9 Resolution 1973 (2011) was adopted by a vote of ten in favor and five abstentions (Brazil, China, Germany, India and Russian Federation). The UNSC authorized member states, “acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, to take all necessary measures  …  to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.” The resolution is available at: https://www.un.org/press/en/2011/sc10200.doc.htm#Resolution

10 Brazil was a non-permanent member from 2010 to 2011. South Africa and India were in this same position from 2011 to 2012.