The Tragedy of Great Power Politics

Post-western world: how emerging powers are remaking global order.

Having overcome its ‘middle-power’ complex during the centre-left governments, Brazil obtained a relatively robust position in international politics as global power, siding with G-20, BRICS and ot...

The BRICS: Wither Brazil?

This essay aims to focus on the initial perspectives about Brazil’s foreign policy and strategic thinking on how to cope with the rise of China’s economic and political might since the inauguration of Jair Bolsonaro’s administration. Bolsonaro demonstrates an interest in approach to the United States’ grievances against China. This paper advocate this strategy faces some hurdles: geographical and economic issues constrain countries such as Australia, India, and Japan to assume assertive instances against China, although they present uneasiness with the Chinese regional ambitions and Washington’s demands of a more active role in the Indo-Pacific. These countries compose with the United States the so-called Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, an initiative that seeks to facilitate their policy coordination towards the Indo-Pacific. However, Canberra, Tokyo, and New Delhi uphold a pragmatic strategy in order to maintain their special ties with the United States and to avoid skirmishes with Beijing. Keywords: Brazilian Foreign Policy; China; Indo-Pacific. RESUMO Este ensaio pretende focar nas perspectivas iniciais sobre a politica externa e o pensamento estrategico do Brasil sobre como lidar com a ascensao do poder economico e politico da China desde a posse do governo de Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro demonstra interesse em se aproximar das queixas dos Estados Unidos contra a China. Este artigo defende que essa estrategia enfrenta alguns obstaculos: questoes geograficas e economicas impedem que paises como a Australia, a India e o Japao assumam posicoes assertivas contra a China, embora apresentem desconforto com as ambicoes regionais chinesas e as exigencias de Washington de um papel mais ativo no Indo-Pacifico. Esses paises compoem, ao lado dos Estados Unidos, o chamado Dialogo Quadrilateral de Seguranca, uma iniciativa que busca facilitar sua coordenacao politica em direcao ao Indo-Pacifico. No entanto, Canberra, Toquio e Nova Deli mantem uma estrategia pragmatica para manter seus lacos especiais com os Estados Unidos e evitar confrontos com Pequim. Palavras-chave : Politica Externa Brasileira; China; Indo-Pacifico. Recebido em: 11 fev.2019 | Aceito em: 2 mai.2019 DOI: 0.12957/rmi.2019.40103

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Bolsonaro, China and the Indo-Pacific: Challenges in Sight | Bolsonaro, China e o Indo-Pacífico: desafios à vista

印度對外政策剖析：從「東望」邁向「東進」 ; India's Foreign Policy: From ’Looking East’ to ’Acting East’

The paper aims to understand Brazilian position in relation to Asia and Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), based on a review of the bibliography and journalistic articles on Brazil-Asia subject and an observance of official data of the Brazilian economy. Since Dilma Rousseff until Michel Temer’s government, Brazil has facing a troubled political and economic scenario, which negatively impacts on its diplomacy. Although Brazil reaffirmed its commitment with global strategic partnership with China in terms of trade flows, the lack of Brazilian participation on issues of global political nature directly impacts on the way in which Brasilia moved its attention to the BRI and to the Asian affairs. The ambitious proportions and objectives of the BRI summed to the rise of a nationalist economic policy of the United States indicate a deepening of several movements that have been changing the international balance of power, which can offer opportunities for Brazil, by means of a cohesive long-term policy for Asia and in a multifaceted way beyond trade.

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Brazilian engagement to Asia and the Belt and Road Initiative in 2017: less politics, more trade and investments

This paper aims to analyse whether the Indian-Japanese initiative Asia-Africa Growth Corridor (AAGC) can be considered a strategy to curb China's supposed capacity of diplomatically isolating its regional rivals while attempting to consolidate the Indo-Pacific as an area of influence. The hypothesis is that, in a moment of uncertainty over United States’ commitment with their Asian traditional partners and allies, India and Japan are encouraged to develop new mechanisms to balance against China. According to the Realist school of International Relations, India and Japan will virtually seek manners to balance against China in order to defend their interests. This paper develops the argument using the concepts of ‘balancing of threat’ and ‘soft balancing’ to describe the strategies developed by these countries within the Indo-Pacific.

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O balanceamento contra a China com o corredor de crescimento Ásia-África: uma iniciativa indiana-japonesa para o Indo-Pacífico

India sees in the acronym BRICS several important possibilities to amplify its international insertion seeking to increase its participation in International Organizations that India believes are unrepresentative with emerging powers. However, concomitantly, India utilizes the BRICS as a “critical counterpoint” for the actual Global Order to smooth some issues and; therewith, widen its relations with OECD countries. It is worthwhile mentioning that those Indian international actions are important to consolidate Narendra Modi’s internal policies, whose government was sworn in at 2014. The New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingency Reserve Arrangement (CRA) are extremely relevant for Indian foreign policy because these international instruments can aid Indian government to fund important projects to strengthen the increasing flow of foreign direct investments to India. Furthermore, this State has an interest in developing a “balanced position” with China. All the elements presents in this essay were selected from several texts written by intellectuals and think tanks.

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/5342689.pdf

A Índia, o NBD e o ACR do BRICS: percepções e interesses

How did foreign assistance influence Brazil’s path to attaining nuclear autonomy? To answer this question, a technopolitics hypothesis centred on the role played by national scientific and technological strategies will be discussed, focusing on two case studies: the history of the Thorium Group (1965-71) and the 1975 Brazil-West Germany nuclear agreement. In both instances, Brazilian policy-makers relied on imported technologies as shortcuts to implement nuclear projects without designing a coordinated plan that involved national scientific programmes and research centres. The Brazilian case highlights the limits of initiatives aimed at attaining nuclear autonomy that revolve only around foreign assistance without complementary investment in national scientific initiatives. 

João Paulo Nicolini Gabriel

Papers

Brazilian engagement to Asia and the Belt and Road Initiative in 2017: less politics, more trade and investments

O balanceamento contra a China com o corredor de crescimento Ásia-África: uma iniciativa indiana-japonesa para o Indo-Pacífico

A Índia, o NBD e o ACR do BRICS: percepções e interesses

A Shortcut to Autonomy or a Path to Dependency? Foreign Assistance and Brazil’s Search for Nuclear Autonomy

For an Anti-Colonial Reading of the Racist Polemic on Miss France