Brazil s Africa Strategy
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Brazil s Africa Strategy Role Conception and the Drive for International Status Christina Stolte
BRAZIL S AFRICA STRATEGY Copyright 2015 Christina Stolte Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 All rights reserved. First published in 2015 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN in the United States a division of St. Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN: 978-1-137-49956-1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stolte, Christina. Brazil s Africa strategy : role conception and the drive for international status / Christina Stolte. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-1-137-49956-1 ISBN 1-137-49956-7 1. Brazil Foreign relations Africa. 2. Africa Foreign relations Brazil. 3. Brazil Foreign relations 21st century. I. Title. DT38.9.B6S76 2015 327.8106 dc23 2014041823 A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library. Design by Amnet. First edition: April 2015 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 ISBN 978-1-349-50534-0 ISBN 978-1-137-49957-8 (ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137499578
To Tarmo and my parents
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Contents List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgments ix xi xiii 1 Introduction: A South American Power Making Inroads into Africa 1 2 Great Powers and the Drive for Status in International Relations 15 2.1 Hierarchy in Anarchy: On the Special Role and Status of Great Powers 15 2.2 States and the Drive for Status in the International Social Hierarchy 26 2.3 Chapter Summary and Analysis: Rising Powers and Their Quest for Great Power Status 35 3 Brazil in the World: Role Conception, Drive for Status, and Status-Seeking Strategies of a Power on the Rise 43 3.1 Brazilian International Identity and Drive for Status 43 3.2 Brazil s International Status-Seeking Strategies 56 3.3 Chapter Summary and Analysis: Brazilian International Status-Seeking between Alignment with and Opposition to the United States 77 4 Brazil in Africa: Extraregional Engagement as Springboard to Great Power Status 83 4.1 Brazil Africa Relations: Brothers Separated by the Atlantic? 83 4.2 Bringing Solutions to Africa: Brazil s Engagement in the Fields of Poverty, Health, and Energy 107 4.3 Chapter Summary and Analysis: Gaining Profile as Africa s Partner for Development 133
viii Contents 5 Why Africa? Motives for Brazil s Africa Engagement 139 6 Conclusion: Brazil s Africa Engagement as Status-Seeking Policy 149 Notes 163 Literature 175 Index 209
List of Figures Graphs Graph 1 Why Great Powers Have a Special Status 19 Graph 2 Contradictory Expectations for the Attribution of Great Power Status 22 Graph 3 The Mechanism of Status-Seeking 32 Graph 4 Balancing Differing Expectations toward Rising Powers 40 Graph 5 Brazil in South America Regional Power or Only Regional Preponderance? 59 Graph 6 Brazil and the United States: Phases of Alignment and Distancing 65 Graph 7 Brazil s Growing South-South Cooperation 76 Graph 8 Brazil s Cycle of Status-Seeking Attempts 80 Graph 9 Brazilian Status-Seeking: Complying with Contradicting Expectations 81 Graph 10 Brazilian Presence in Africa 94 Graph 11 Development of Brazil Africa Trade 2001 2011 (US$ billion) 99 Graph 12 Brazilian Economic Engagement in Africa 104 Graph 13 Africa as a Market for Brazil s Manufactured Goods 106 Graph 14 Regional Shares of Brazil s Development Cooperation under Lula 108 Graph 15 Brazil s Development Cooperation in Africa under Lula (in US$ million) 108 Graph 16 Brazil s Growing Development Cooperation with Africa and Latin America 109 Graph 17 Brazil s Development Cooperation with Africa 110 Graph 18 Brazil s Engagement in Africa s Fight against Hunger and Poverty 120 Graph 19 Brazilian Health Cooperation with Africa 125 Graph 20 Brazilian Energy Cooperation with Africa 132
x Graph 21 Graph 22 Graph 23 List of Figures Comparing Brazil s Economic Presence and Its Presence as New Donor in Africa 136 South-South Cooperation as Vehicle for International Status Rise 138 Brazil s Africa Engagement as a Balanced Status-Seeking Strategy 155
List of Tables Tables 1 Categories of States in the International Social Hierarchy 20 2 Drivers of State Behavior 27 3 Differentiating Power and Status 28 4 Brazilian Presidential Visits to Africa (2003 2010) 95 5 Africa Credit Lines by Brazil s Development Bank (BNDES) 101 6 Brazil s Trade with Selected Countries and Regions during the Lula Era 135
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Acknowledgments During the past years many people have supported me in the process of writing this book. They all have my deep gratitude. I am particularly obliged to Prof. Dr. Detlef Nolte, who has constantly supported and guided me through the process of conceptualizing and writing this book. Without his overwhelming backing, this work would not have been possible. I also owe great thanks to the GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies for providing me with a very stimulating working environment as well as institutional and financial support. The cooperative atmosphere, the fruitful discussions on Rising Powers in the context of the GIGA Research Program on Power, Norms, and Governance, and the interesting conversations on Brazilian foreign policy at the Institute for Latin American Studies (ILAS) were a great inspiration to me. Moreover, I would like to express my gratitude to the University of Hamburg and the Hamburg International Graduate School for the Study of Regional Powers that have supported my work through a generous scholarship and have enabled me to conduct several research stays in Brazil. Further, I am very grateful for the enormous hospitality and help I enjoyed during my research stays in Brazil. Colleagues from the IRI, the UERJ, the UnB, the BPC, the IPEA, and other Brazilian research institutions caringly assisted me in my research by taking the time to answer my interview questions, sharing their opinions on Brazilian foreign policy with me, and providing me with essential information. Brazilian institutions like ABC, MRE, MDIC, Embrapa, Fiocruz, Afrochamber, CNI, and numerous others have received me with open arms and provided me with extensive data and invaluable information on Brazil s Africa engagement. I would especially like to thank the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI) for generously offering me office space and institutional support during the writing process of the book, and warmly including me into the team and the activities at the institute. This support has been truly invaluable. In the same manner, I would
xiv Acknowledgments like to thank the Institute of International Relations (IRI) at PUC Rio and especially Prof. Kai Kenkel, who has made my stay as visiting researcher possible and granted me vital support over the months. Great thanks also go to my friends and colleagues, who have supported and helped me to complete this work. Special thanks go to Sandra Destradi and Jurek Seifert, who took the time to carefully proofread chapters of this book despite being involved in important and time-consuming work themselves. I further owe thanks to Andrew Cooper, Nicolas Onuf, Lesley Wehner, and Gero Erdmann for reading and discussing key aspects of my work and providing me with valuable advice. Furthermore, I am deeply thankful to the GIGA Girls Natalie Hess, Annette Ranko, Sandra Destradi, and Ellinor Zeino-Mahmalat. They have turned the process of writing this book into a great time and unforgettable memories. Finally, I am deeply grateful for the understanding, patience, and great support of my family and my partner, Tarmo Dix. They have spent hours on discussing book fragments and open questions with me, have proofread the entire manuscript, and have patiently indulged my changing moods. To them I dedicate my work.