Regional Implications of Rising Populism and Foreign Policy: Brazil and Turkey

• In Event: The Rise of Populist Foreign Policy

Abstract

The symbiotic relation between domestic and international politics is not new yet has become even more complex with rising global populism. This paper aims to look at the rise of populism and its reflection on foreign policy through a cross-regional analysis of Brazil and Turkey. Tracing back to a two decade long timespan, the paper comparatively analyzes Brazil and Turkey under the incumbency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, popularly known as Lula (2003-2011), Dilma Roussef (2011-2016), Michel Temer (2016-2018) and Jair Bolsonaro (2019-) in Brazil and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2002-) in Turkey. A comparative analysis of Brazil and Turkey deserves attention, as these regional actors were once recognized as rising regional powers at the beginning of 2000s with advancements in their democratic and economic developments, yet have become the rising populist powers due to political and economic decay during the late 2000s. The question is which factors invigorate the rise of populism in such regional actors and how populism influences their foreign policy. The paper is organized in three parts: In the first part, employing domestic-international level analysis, the paper analyzes the changing dynamics in economic and political contexts of Brazil and Turkey since 2000s, thus offering an explanation as to the driving forces of populism. In the second part, through discourse analysis, the paper comparatively analyzes responses by Brazil and Turkey to the political crises emerged in their respective regions. The paper shows that as democratic and economic decay accelerates, populism strengthens and foreign policy becomes assertive. The paper argues that by means of populism, at the domestic level, authoritarian tendencies expands while at the international level assertive foreign policy becomes a means of legitimation for the incumbent government to monopolize its power at the domestic and regional levels. In the final part, the paper reflects upon the affinities and divergences of rising populism in Brazil and Turkey, thus emphasizes the shared patterns of foreign policy.

Author

• Merve Calimli Akgun, Istanbul Technical University