Pedro Seabra

A harder edge: reframing Brazil's power relation with Africa

Abstract Brazil’s rapprochement with Africa during the last decade has been mostly explained as an attempt to improve political dialogue, raise economic interactions, and provide technical cooperation assistance. This article, however, argues that such framework does not sufficiently account for the use of Brazilian material resources in order to attain harder strategic goals towards the continent. By focusing on defense cooperation ties, it highlights an important niche in South-South relations that has also grown exponentially, with important consequences on how Brazil exerts power across the Atlantic.Keywords: Africa; Brazil; defense cooperation; material resources. Resumo A reaproximacao do Brasil com a Africa durante a ultima decada tem sido explicada em grande parte como uma tentativa de melhorar o dialogo politico, aumentar as interacoes economicas e fornecer assistencia de cooperacao tecnica. Este artigo, entretanto, argumenta que esse arcabouco nao representa suficientemente o uso de recursos materiais para atingir metas estrategicas mais dificeis para o continente. Focando nos lacos de cooperacao em defesa, ressaltamos um importante nicho nas relacoes Sul-Sul que tambem cresceram exponencialmente, com importantes consequencias sobre como o Brasil exerce poder atraves do Atlântico.Palavras-chave: Africa; Brasil; cooperacao em defesa; recursos materiais.

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.

Defence cooperation between Brazil and Namibia: Enduring ties across the South Atlantic

This article addresses the nature of transatlantic relations between Brazil and Namibia in the last two decades and argues that, in stark contrast with any other relationship regarding the African continent, Brazils motivation in deepening ties with Namibia was largely built upon an extensive military-to-military cooperation partnership. By focusing on long-standing bureaucratic interests, the article demonstrates how Brazilian–Namibian relations were driven over the years by strategic affinities, business opportunities made available by the security sectors of both countries and, more recently, growing concerns over the sovereignty of their respective maritime areas in tandem with renewed interest for security developments within the the South Atlantic region.

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.