Strategies of rising Brazil: postmortem review, looking forward

ABSTRACT Brazil in the early 2000s underwent a process of perceived ascent in the global pecking order, leading scholars to explore the statecraft and strategy behind it. Now that Brazil’s fortunes in world politics have reversed it is time to dissect the purported strategies for upwards mobility of that time. This article draws on the concept of Strategic Diplomacy advanced in this special section to review the literatures on rising Brazil in the English language with a focus on four sets of questions. What kinds of international power and purpose did ‘rising Brazil’ pursue? How did successive administrations framed long-term objectives? How did domestic institutional design condition Brazil’s international aspirations? And what role did individual leaders play in shaping strategy? The article then lays out key areas where future work may contribute to improving our understanding of the conditions under which effective diplomatic strategizing in Brazil might occur.