Brazil's unique approach to foreign aid

As Brazil draws increasing media attention thanks to the soccer world cup, Dr Sean Burges looks at why Brazil’s international aid program differs from the standard model.

The drivers of Brazil’s foreign aid program are the same as any nation – furthering business interests, increasing global influence through soft power and a desire to help alleviate poverty.

However, a recent paper by Dr Sean Burges,  International Relations Lecturer and Senior Associate of the Australian National Centre for Latin American Studies (ANCLAS), puts the spotlight on Brazil’s approach to providing foreign aid, finding that it differs markedly from other nations.

“Unlike like countries such as Australia, Canada, the USA, Japan or China, Brazil does not give money,” says Burges.

“Brazil gives expertise through a direct transfer of knowledge and practices by the same officials and technicians who have transformed Brazil over the last decade. This means that proven practice is being applied and, more importantly, due to the close collaborative nature of the programming, adjusted to suit new circumstances.”

Brazil’s foreign aid program is also tied to the country’s own economic development agenda, says Burges.

To this end, Brazil uses rhetoric about ‘partnerships’ and ‘solidarity’ to justify Brazilian foreign aid and anchor it to the country’s own national development plans.

“There is a real sense of partnership in the Brazilian development assistance model,” says Burges.

“It’s based on an explicit belief that continued social and economic progress in Brazil will not be possible if neighbouring countries and the wider global South do not grow, too. For Brazilian policy makers the poor countries of today are the thriving export markets of tomorrow.”

Burges argues that linking aid to domestic goals and the way that it provides extensive technical expertise are unique in the international system.

And their approach appears to be paying off for the Brazilian government and firms.

“Foreign aid through technical cooperation is an important part of the glue binding Brazil's increasingly tight relationships with countries across the global South," says Burges.

Importantly, he concludes, it has the potential to deliver lasting results and avoid the dependency trap often attributed to foreign aid.

For full details, download ‘Brazil's International Development Co-operation: Old and New Motivations’ in Development Policy Review, volume 32, number 3 or contact Dr Burges for a copy of the paper.