Brazil is Australia's perfect match

New research by Dr Sean Burges of the Australian National Centre of Latin American Studies on Brazil’s rise as a global power was this week published in the London-based Royal Institute of International Affairs’ journal, International Affairs.

Dr Burges’ paper explores Brazil’s foreign policies and what tactics the country used to secure diplomats on some of the world’s major decision-making tables, including the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

“Brazil’s arrival on the world stage can be credited to their many clever and capable diplomats, such as Ambassador Roberto Azevedo who was recently appointed Director General of the WTO,” he said.

Dr Burges said the Brazilian’s have carefully crafted themselves as powerful players in the world, and a relationship with Australia could greatly benefit both.

“Far from being a threat to Australia, Brazil actually stands as an ideal partner,” he said.

“Many of the issues preoccupying Australian policy makers – climate change, trade liberalisation, China – also keep decision makers in Brazil awake at night.

“Brazil currently has more gravitas than Australia as a proposer of transnational approaches to managing these issues, which is something Australia recognised in 2012 when it signed a strategic partnership agreement with Brazil.

“Watching Brazil is critical for Australian policy makers across a range of issue areas because it will help them isolate solutions that not only might work, but also could be saleable on the global stage with Brazilian help.

“Assumptions about how Brazil will react to invitations to participate in international policy discussions need to be rethought. Brazil comes to the table with impressive diplomatic capacity and well thought out policy proposals.”

The Australian National Centre of Latin American Studies, located within the College of Arts and Social Sciences at ANU, promotes research and teaching in Latin American Studies, particularly in the fields of the social sciences and humanities and economics.

For Interviews: Dr Sean Burges – 02 6125 7569 / 0404 536 513 / sean.burges@anu.edu.au