Brazil’s rise to global power

Abstract

This thesis assesses the rise of Brazil as a global power. To examine this, the research takes an international relations approach to measure power in terms of a state’s ability to influence other states. Three aspects that this research focuses on are wealth, land power, and international influence. These characteristics separate hegemons, global, middle, and regional powers. Brazil’s rise to global power started with instituting neoliberal reform, which produced the economic growth over the last 20 years, and has translated into the ability to domestically and globally invest in poverty and disease reduction programs across Latin America and Africa. With the strongest military in Latin America, Brazil has difficulty acquiring new technology and military assets because no direct security threat exists. Foreign policy desires a projection of force, while defense spending limits the military to internal security. Brazil’s role in international organizations provides many opportunities to exert leadership, but each organization limits the level of Brazilian influence. This thesis finds that Brazil, although strong economically, is still a middle power with aspirations of global power, based on a difference in its material capabilities and ability to continually exercise economic and political influence outside the Latin American region.