The foundation and development of International Relations in Brazil

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to the critical understanding of how International Relations (IR) was built as a social science field within Brazil's modern project. I argue that the foundation and the development of IR in Brazil in the twentieth century is closely associated with foreign policy, on the one hand, and with the national geopolitical thinking, particularly in the aftermath of the Second World War, on the other. In its trajectory, Brazil's IR has been influenced, among others, by the analysis of domestic and systemic determinants of foreign policy, historical interpretations, the study of the components of state power, studies of diplomacy and its contribution to the country's development, the analysis of decision-making processes and to a lesser extent, cognitive approaches. This article is organised around three sections. First, I present a brief history of the geopolitical tradition in Brazil's IR. Second, I discuss IR development in Brazil, stressing the role of diplomats, the key contribution of intellectuals coming from social and human sciences, and finally the emergence of the first generations of IR scholars in the eighties. Third, I analyse the institutionalisation of the field, its quantitative and qualitative growth, presenting some data on its organisation in recent times.

Apresentação: A Integração Sul-Americana em Tempos de Cólera

“…Primeiro, o crescente financiamento e institucionalização do campo de Relações Internacionais no país pode ter contribuído para um aumento no número de estudos no referido campo, como discutem Carvalho, Santos e Martínez (2021). Segundo, a importância atribuída ao Mercosul na amostra analisada pode ter relação com o interesse apresentado pela academia brasileira no bloco (HERZ, 2002;MILANI, 2021).…”

A Bibliometric Analysis on Trends, Directions and Major Players of International Relations Studies

“…A variety of works have documented some critical understanding of how IR was built within different geographical areas. For instance, Milani (2021) who covered IR discussions in Brazilian publications, claims that IR is closely associated with foreign policy, and national geopolitical thinking, particularly post-Second World War. Drulak and Drulakova's (2000) review of IR in the Czech Republic, found a somewhat shaky theoretical foundation and generational divide in the discipline.…”

Following the Trail of Words: Mapping the Trending Topics of Graduate Research in the Brazilian IR Scholarship (1987-2018)

“…Theory (FONSECA JR. and UZIEL, 2019;LIMA and CHEIBUB, 1983;LOPES, GABRIEL, and CARVALHO, 2022;MILANI, 2021).…”

“…it mostly addresses topics apparently related to the Brazilian foreign policy, governmental funding, and the international context (ALEJANDRO 2019;HERZ, 2002;MILANI, 2021;TICKNER, 2009). We contribute with two new additional findings.…”

“…The goal was to understand Brazil's role in these processes (VIGEVANI, THOMAZ, and LEITE, 2016). Milani (2021) notes that the consolidation of this scholarship in the 20th century is closely intertwined with Brazilian foreign policy and geopolitical thought.…”