Foreign Policy Analysis in Brazil: The Use of Middle-Range Theories

Since its inception in the late 1950s, the field of foreign policy analysis in Brazil has been mostly problem driven. Furthermore, most of the studies are focused exclusively on the Brazilian context, without extending their conclusion beyond national boundaries. However, the analysis of more than 200 articles, published by Brazilian academics in local and international journals since the 1950s, reveals that new trends are emerging since the beginning of the 21st century. There is a steady increase of articles using foreign policy analysis tools and concepts, a growing number of comparative studies, and a tendency to develop middle-range theories that can be replicated elsewhere. Even though the use of middle-range theories is still incipient, the Brazilian international relations (IR) community could greatly benefit from it, fostering greater integration with the international IR community, refining the Brazilian foreign policy analysis, and reevaluating the “scientific exceptionalism” that has characterized Brazilian IR academic production.