Brazil in the World : The International Relations of a South American Giant

This book draws on over seventy interviews, fieldwork in five countries, and a comprehensive survey of government documents, media reports and scholarly literature. It examines multilateralism, trade and security, as well as the pattern of bilateral relations in South America, the Global South, and with China and the USA to trace how Brazil formulates its transformative foreign policy agenda and works to implement it regionally and globally. 

Specific focus is given to tracing how and why Brazil has moved onto the global stage, leveraging its regional predominance in South America into a global leadership role and bridge between the North and South in international affairs. The analysis highlights the extent to which foreign policy making in Brazil is changing as a field of public policy and the degree to which sustained political attention is necessary for a dynamic and innovative international engagement approach. Burges casts light not only how an emerging power rises in the international system, but also isolates the blind spots that existing analytical approaches have when it comes to thinking about what power means for the increasingly vocal rising states of the Global South. This book will be of interest to students, scholars and policy makers.