The Brazilian international development cooperation : over-representation, ambivalence, decentralization and instrumentalism

Abstract

The main goal of the article is the analysis of primary data from the Brazilian International Development Cooperation (Cooperação Brasileira para o Desenvolvimento Internacional – Cobradi). It characterizes the Brazilian participation in the International Development Cooperation (IDC) agenda based on the implementation of the country’s cooperation for other developing countries. Relying on data from the Cobradi research gathered by the Institute for Applied Economic Research (Instituto de Pesquisa Econômica Aplicada – Ipea) since 2010 and by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (DAC/OECD), the article identifies four characteristics of the Brazilian IDC since 2005: over-representation, ambivalence, decentralization and instrumentalism. Although the article focuses essentially on identifying regularities and trends, it is inevitable to conclude that Brazil needs a more integrated IDC management system, as well as a framework to assess the impacts of public investment on this agenda, particularly the country’s contributions to international institutions.