Brazil as a Regional Power and Its Relations with the United States

Abstract

Since the mid-nineteenth century, Brazil’s interests have conflicted with those of the great industrial powers. Its alignment with the United States in the first half of the twentieth century reflected its dependence on coffee exports and the North American market, and even then it did not always passively accept U.S. predominance. An inevitable consequence of Brazil’s ambition to win its rightfully prominent place in the international structure of power has led to a withering away of that unwritten alliance over the past quarter of a century. Brazil has steadily improved its ties with other South American countries in an effort to expand its room for maneuver and increase its bargaining power. While the current administration has pursued friendly relations with the United States, divergences between the two countries remain. In particular, along with other South American countries, Brazil has serious economic and political concerns that run counter to the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas.

Cherry picking in the design of trade policy: why regional organizations shift between inter-regional and bilateral negotiations

“…The regional format targeted Mercosur as a group although the EU primarily had an interest in Brazil (Interview 6;23;26). At this time, inter-regionalism was facilitated by Mercosur's coherence: first, the regional format was Brazil's top foreign policy priority (Bandeira, 2006;Carranza, 2003;Duina & Buxbaum, 2008;Malamud, 2005;Soares De Lima & Hirst, 2006); second, Mercosur's member states had converging trade preferences. Pushing the regional format, Brazil saw Mercosur's customs union as a means to more bargaining leverage (Interview 20;21;Hopewell, 2013).…”

U.S.-Brazil Security Cooperation and the State Partnership Program

“…The junta originally backed U.S. economic and liberalization initiatives, until the Carter Administration began to increase pressure on their human rights and nuclear development programs. 6 This eventually led to the cancellation of the Many observers believe Brazil's independent and autonomous ambitions are "embedded in the psyche of Brazilian elite," 7 and remain a dominant factor in Brazil's foreign relations particularly with respect to the U.S. Impressive economic growth during the late 1960s and early 1970s promoted the idea of Brazil as an independent world power and at the same time tended to marginalize the "unwritten alliance" with the U.S. 8 During the 1970s and 1980s, Brazil focused foreign policy on good relations with its neighbors in Latin America.…”

“…9 During the 1990s, Brazil not only sought to become the regional leader but also recognized the need to foster intercontinental relations. 10 This it has done through expansion of its economic and political ties throughout the world, fostering greater south-south to support a U.S. position but instead seeks to be an activist of its own based on its own agenda and position in the world. 12 Brazil's activism is seen through many examples.…”

Understanding initiation behavior in Brazilian negotiations: an analysis of four regional subcultures

“…Brazil, a country that has recently emerged as an important player in trade and commerce, provides an example. Following the stabilization of its political and economic systems in the last decade of the twentieth century (Bandeira, 2006;Holland, 2010), Brazil has witness dramatic growth and increasing prominence. It has acquired some measure of energy independence while its middle class has begun to expand (Shankar, Ormiston, Bloch & Schaus, 2008;Soares, Ribas & Osório, 2010).…”