The role of Defense Diplomacy in Brazilian relations with South American countries

• In Event: Defense diplomacy and nuclear issues

Abstract

The paper looks at the Brazilian participation in Defense Diplomacy initiatives with neighbouring South American countries. After the creation of the Brazilian Ministry of Defense in 1999, Brazil increased its involvement in a series of cooperative defense initiatives with its South American neighbours, including the participation in United Nations peacekeeping missions, in military exercises, the exchange of officers for military education activities as well as humanitarian assistance in situations of natural disaster. In addition to bilateral initiatives, Brazil also promoted defense cooperation at the regional level as within the South American Defense Council. The 20th anniversary of the creation of the Brazilian Ministry of Defense is therefore an important milestone to look at the initiatives developed in the past 20 years, also drawing attention to what the future will hold for Brazilian defense cooperation as the country faces contemporary political and economic challenges. The paper addresses the innovative elements of many of the initiatives developed, including their connection with confidence-building and stability measures within South America, as well as the competitive and complementary dimensions associated with the Brazilian initiatives from actors from within and outside the region, which have developed their own approaches to defense cooperation in South America. The paper also sheds light into an often overlooked component of Defense Diplomacy, the domestic interaction between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) and the Ministry of Defense. The paper benefits from archival research, including material obtained via Brazil’s Access to Information Law, as well as interviews with academics and decision-makers

Author

• Danilo Marcondes de Souza Neto, Brazilian War College