ABSTRACT
In Chapter 10, we address Brazil’s dynamic role in contemporary international relations. Historically speaking, Brazil has a reputation for savvy diplomatic relations. It bears noting that Brazil has maintained historically peaceful relations with nearly all of its neighbors, a feat even more impressive when one remembers Brazil shares a border with ten different countries. This history is important for understanding ongoing developments, whereby Brazil has sought in recent decades to expand its global engagement, even hoping for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Yet, Brazil is by no means a military power, raising questions about whether a country that lacks nuclear weapons can, in fact, become a world leader in the twenty-first century. By exploring these questions, and working to explain why Brazilian foreign policy operates with complex and shifting patterns of cooperation with other states and non-state actors, this chapter provides key insight to several debates regarding Brazil’s role in the world.
