Atlantic Community:Open Think Tank Article "Understanding Change in Brazil's Foreign Policy"

MA Thesis: Understanding Change in Brazil's Foreign Policy

Albert Buyé Grau: This dissertation seeks to demonstrate that Brazil’s foreign policy changed during the period between 1990 and 2010 because of the country’s adoption of a consensual hegemonic strategy in South America. This was pursued in order to become a global power.

This MSc dissertation provides an extended discussion of the concept of hegemony using Destradi's "forms of hegemonic strategy". This theory is then utilised as a guiding framework for the analysis of Brazil's foreign policy. I expose the three main changes in the country‟s foreign policy (foreign economic policy, presidentialization and the articulation of a South American region) and then tie them to specific cases that illustrate the regional hegemonic strategies pursued by Brazilian diplomacy.

I conclude by arguing that the main changes in Brazilian foreign policy over the last two decades have been a consequence of the country‟s adoption of a regional consensual hegemonic strategy. This was adopted to build a region-wide collective action designed to advance its national priorities.

Albert Buyé Grau is an MSc graduate in International and European Politics from the University of Edinburgh.

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