Brazil’s Africa Strategy

Brazil has been making international headlines over the past few years. As “B” in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) and host country for a whole number of major international events, the rising South American power has received a lot of international attention and has attracted increasing international investment. Bidding for and hosting international events like the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) (2012), the World Youth Day (2013), the FIFA World Cup (2014), and the Olympics (2016) Brazil has become an increasingly visible actor in the international arena since the presidency of Lula da Silva (2003–2010). Yet, not all of the increased international activism that has marked Brazil’s foreign policy since the turn of the millennium has been as visible as the hosting of international mega events. Other actions have been less in the focus of the international media but have been just as important and impressive.

The following chapter will present the theoretical concepts of Great Power status in international relations and status-seeking as a driver of state behavior. Used throughout this book, these two concepts provide the theoretical basis for the subsequent analysis of Brazil’s Africa engagement. Drawing on insights from both International Relations theory and social psychology, the chapter introduces the two key arguments on which the study is built: (1) There is a social hierarchy in international relations, and Great Powers enjoy the highest status within that social hierarchy; and (2) states strive for higher status in the international social hierarchy and apply different status-seeking strategies in order to achieve that goal. Which strategy is applied will be determined by the state’s material capabilities and its international identity.

After having given an overview on the theoretical concepts of Great Power status in international relations and status-seeking as a driver of state behavior, the following chapter will examine Brazil’s international identity, its role conception, and its status-seeking strategies in order to delineate the country’s self-understanding and its ambitions in the international society. Arguing that status-seeking has been a dominant and constant factor in Brazil’s foreign policy, the chapter provides the basis for the analysis of status-seeking motives and mechanisms in Brazil’s Africa engagement in Chapters 4 and 5.

Having given an overview of Brazil’s international identity and the country’s history of status-seeking, as well as an introduction to the general guidelines and strategies of the foreign policy of the Lula administration, the following chapter will focus on Brazil’s Africa policy. Understanding the South American country’s engagement in Africa as a fundamental element of the Lula administration’s strategy to assert Brazil as a Great Power, the chapter provides a summary of Brazil’s involvement in the African continent and shows how the country has sought to use its South-South cooperation with Africa to gain global profile and enhance its international status.

As has been shown in the last chapter, Brazil’s engagement in Africa was mainly driven by the government and required great effort by the Lula administration. While the official discourse tried to frame Africa as a natural partner of Brazil, the Lula government faced strong opposition by the political and economic elite that was almost exclusively oriented toward the United States and Europe at that time. Taking into account the Lula government’s great endeavor to engage Brazil in Africa, the question arises why Brazil has put so much effort in gaining presence in Africa. Why did Brazil invest in the political and economic rapprochement with Africa despite the fact that other world regions were economically much more important to it? Looking behind the official Brazilian discourse of cultural affinity and diplomatic goodwill, the present chapter will take a look at the motives and interests that have driven Brazil’s Africa policy.

Over the past decade Brazil has become an important player on the African continent. Along with other emerging powers like China and India, Brazil has established itself as a new trade partner and emerging donor in Africa. Having doubled the number of its embassies in less than ten years, Brazil now figures among the countries with the strongest diplomatic presence in Africa. Trade with the continent has increased sixfold in the period between 2000 and 2011 and political relations with African countries have flourished, as reflected by the numerous policy forums, government meetings, and periodical summits that link Brazil and Africa. In sum, ties with the continent have multiplied and have created a multilayered network of political, social, cultural, and economic relations between Brazil and its neighboring continent.