Adriana Erthal Abdenur

Rising Powers and The Security–Development Nexus: Brazil's Engagement with Guinea-Bissau

Over the past decade, Brazil has stepped up its involvement in international security and development. However, few studies have looked at how Brazils concrete experiences in post-conflict and fragile states have shaped its broader positions on key security and development issues (and vice versa). Analysing Brazils role in Guinea-Bissau, this article asks how Brazilian government actors interpret the intersection between security and development. Drawing on a combination of document analysis and interviews, findings suggest that the Brazilian government has rejected labels such as ‘failed state’ and ‘narco-state’ and that cooperation needs to address the multidimensional causes of Guinea-Bissaus instability. Brazils stress on combining security sector reform with broader institution-building and socioeconomic development reflects a somewhat different emphasis than the approach promoted by actors that have concentrated more narrowly on curbing the drug trade.

China and the BRICS Development Bank: Legitimacy and Multilateralism in South–South Cooperation

In 2013 the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) grouping agreed to undertake what will, when implemented, become its most concrete project yet: the BRICS Development Bank (BDB). From the perspective of the Chinese government, which already leads a vast and far‐reaching cooperation programme, the bank will not represent a significant addition to its cooperation portfolio. What, then, motivates Chinas participation in the initiative, and what can it bring to the table? This article analyses Chinas interests in the BDB in the light of its past experiences with development, at home and abroad. I argue that Chinas interests in backing the bank project are primarily political. In addition to offering a concrete opportunity to legitimise Chinas multilateralism strategy – burnishing Chinas image as a responsible yet pro‐reform global player – the bank project also allows China to influence international development norms. At the same time, the project also poses challenges for China, especially in terms of promoting poverty alleviation without resorting to trickle‐down assumptions about an infrastructure‐focused approach to development.

South−South cooperation and democracy in Africa: Brazil's role in Guinea-Bissau

Over the past decade, Brazilian foreign policy has struggled to balance two principles: respect for national sovereignty and the commitment to promote democracy and human rights both at home and abroad. Understanding how this balancing act affects Brazils relations with Africa has become particularly important because Brazilian cooperation with African partners has expanded considerably over the past decade. This article analyzes Brazils initiatives in democracy and human rights promotion in the context of Guinea-Bissau. We find that Brazils initiatives in this area are channeled through two interconnected venues: multilaterally, especially through the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries and the UN Peacebuilding Commission, and bilaterally, through the official technical development cooperation programs coordinated by the Brazilian Cooperation Agency. We argue that, in the case of Guinea-Bissau, Brazil has worked to maintain institution-building as an essential component of development and security efforts to stabilize the country.

O Brasil e a cooperação em defesa: a construção de uma identidade regional no Atlântico Sul

This article analyzes the cooperation that Brazil has been developing across the South Atlantic, showing that Brazil has adopted the role of region-builder, working to construct a South Atlantic identity while it secures for itself a position of preeminence. Such efforts begin to be contested by other actors from within and outside the region.

An ocean for the Global South: Brazil and the zone of peace and cooperation in the South Atlantic

Abstract In this article, we analyse an instance of revitalisation of a dormant interregional organisation dating back to the Cold War: the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZOPACAS), initially launched by South American and African states in 1986 through the UN General Assembly. Drawing on the concepts of “consensual hegemony” we argue that the current phase of ZOPACAS’ existence is characterised by Brazils efforts to rekindle it, thus reflecting its aspiration to create a new space of influence. Rather than pursuing more traditional forms of regional leadership, Brazil uses ZOPACAS as part of a persuasion-based strategy based on regional multilateralism that is designed in antagonism to other international organisations and Western powers. However, this strategy also faces important limitations resulting from resource constraints, lack of institutionalisation and an excessive exclusionary focus on minimising the role of global powers with interests in the region.

The BRICS and the South Atlantic: Emerging arena for South–South cooperation

Over the past decade, power dynamics within the South Atlantic region have undergone significant changes. While the area has historically been dominated by North–South ties, both in terms of material flows and with respect to political influence, more recently there has been a surge in cooperation between developing countries within this space. As trade, investment and other forms of exchange and dialogue increase among actors from within the region (notably between South America and Africa) and with states located outside the region, the BRICS countries become more relevant to the South Atlantic. Individually, they have become relevant players in the South Atlantics economic, political and security dimensions. Collectively, as inter-BRICS flows and political coordination intensify, new configurations of cooperation emerge within the South Atlantic. These initiatives suggest that rising powers are contributing towards making the South Atlantic – long dominated by North–South ties – a space where South–South cooperation and norms predominate.

Region-building by rising powers: the South Atlantic and Indian Ocean rims compared

Far from being ‘naturally’ delineated by geography or bound solely through shared culture, regions are actively constructed by states and other actors pursuing specific interests. In this article, we analyse the region-building efforts of two rising powers – Brazil and India – as they work to project power and enhance their influence within the Atlantic and Indian oceans, respectively. Through a comparison of their behaviours within their maritime spaces – including naval build-up, international cooperation, and efforts to revive institutions such as ZOPACAS and IOR-ARC – we argue that Brazil and India are paying increasing attention to oceanic rims, albeit for somewhat disparate reasons. While India is increasingly concerned with the role of China within the Indian Ocean, for which it has had to rely on US support, Brazil is primarily driven to protect its oil and to minimise the role of the US and NATO in the South Atlantic. In both spaces, however, the rise of so-called non-traditional threats, including piracy, has further motivated these states maritime power strategies. The analysis suggests that, within the context of the post-Cold War period, rising powers have begun redefining their strategic regions in terms of their maritime perimeters as a way to project power and influence beyond their continental vicinities.

Democratization by association? Brazil’s social policy cooperation in Africa

Abstract The field of international development has undergone major shifts as South–South cooperation expands. New questions are being raised about the political implications of this cooperation, including with respect to democracy and human rights. In this paper, we analyse the role of Brazil, a democratic provider of South–South cooperation, in fomenting these principles in Africa. We find that explicit democracy promotion makes up a minority of Brazil’s cooperation with Africa. However, Brazil also engages in social policy initiatives which, despite not being labelled as democracy and human rights promotion, are inspired by Brazil’s own experiences with re-democratization—what we refer to as “democratization by association”. We argue that these initiatives—mostly geared towards institution-building in areas where Brazil seeks to promote itself as a hotbed of policy innovation—are disembedded from the political context in which they arose in Brazil. While this disembeddedness allows the Brazilian state to maintain its official discourse of non-interference, it also makes the political impact of Brazilian cooperation in Africa highly uncertain.

Rising powers and Antarctica: Brazil’s changing interests

Within the context of the post-Cold War period, rising power states have developed new regional and global interests, including with respect to Antarctica. In this paper, we analyse the role of Antarctica within Brazil’s rising power strategy, defined in terms of the foreign policy, defence strategy, and science and technology goals promoted by its policy elites. Focusing on the past decade, we find that Antarctica has gained greater visibility in all three aspects of Brazil’s rising power strategy. Regionally, Antarctica has become an important element within Brazil’s new defence policy for the South Atlantic region, as well as a way for Brazil to enhance cooperation with other South American states. In terms of its global ambitions, becoming a more active player within the Antarctic Treaty System is seen as a way for Brazil to participate more directly in debates with global reach. Finally, Antarctic research is viewed as a promising component of Brazil’s efforts to boost its science and technology capacity, and therefore its socio-economic development and competitiveness. In attaining these goals, Brazil faces a number of hurdles that became more evident after a 2012 fire destroyed most of its Antarctic base, although reconstruction efforts have produced new dynamics of cooperation, domestically and internationally.

Age of Choice or Diversification? Brazil, Portugal, and Capacity-Building in the Angolan Armed Forces

ABSTRACT The role of South–South cooperation in peace and security has prompted new questions about how, and to what extent, these ties differ from responses implemented by traditional donor countries. However, little of this literature has taken a directly comparative approach, and few studies exist on the role of such cooperation ties in the security domain. This article helps to fill these gaps by contrasting the roles of Portugal and Brazil in capacity-building of the Angolan Armed Forces. Portugal has long held a central role in this domain. However, that centrality has been increasingly challenged by emerging South–South defense cooperation players that claim to offer different approaches. Brazil, in particular, made considerable inroads with Angola in recent years. How has Brazil engaged with the Angolan military, and how does its approach to compare with that of Portugal? We focus on the case study of the Angolan Navy against the backdrop of emerging maritime security issues while addressing the question of whether or not rising powers can break the restricted club of external security providers in Africa.