Os desafios do multilateralismo liberal
: a problemática entre interesses e valores : uma análise a partir da política externa de Rússia e Brasil : 2000-2010

  • José Augusto da Silveira Filho (Student)

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

Multilateralism faces its worst moment since it was implemented as the main foundation ofworld governance after World War II. Its main creators and sponsors do not understand theimportance of political coordination in a context of the return of geopolitics to international relations. The United States moved from the excessive unilateralism of the 1990s and 2000s toa neo-isolationism in which the Washington government began to fight multilateral institutions as the cause of the downfall of the American dream. On the other hand, without the same capabilities as the transatlantic ally, Europe is watching the integration project being threatenedby centrifugal movements such as Brexit. The national-populist wave has infected leaders on both sides of the Atlantic, contributing to the process of erosion of the liberal order carried out by the authoritarian regimes of Russia and China, as well as rogue States like North Korea and Iran. In this context of redistribution of world power, countries that historically contributed to the strengthening of the system based on rules and values, like Brazil, adopted foreign policy approaches aimed at the conquest of power and prestige in the international arena. This scenario is particularly damaging to multilateralism. In order to exist in a substantial form, multilateral cooperation requires States to abdicate in some of their particular strategic interests.The objective of this thesis is to investigate the dichotomy between interests and values as phenomena that influence the State's preferences regarding multilateral cooperation. When analyzing the foreign policy of Russia and Brazil during the 2000-2010 period, it was concluded that their governments saw in multilateralism an instrument of the politics of power that they adopted aiming essentially at selfish interests, which were invariably contrary to the principles of the liberal order. It is argued that the main source of motivation for multilateral cooperation is the interests that, leveled according to the expectations of States in relation to theopportunities offered by the international context, encourage governments to cede part of their sovereignty to act in a coordinated manner under the institutional framework. However, it is accepted that values play a major role in reaching agreements and enforcing their rules and, above all, that the normative dimension of state interactions helps to increase systemic stability when trading for absolute gains is current practice.
Date of Award24 Sept 2021
Original languagePortuguese
Awarding Institution
  • Universidade Católica Portuguesa
SupervisorLívia Franco (Supervisor)

Keywords

  • Multilateralism
  • Liberal order
  • Liberal internationalism
  • Brazil
  • Russia

Designation

  • Doutoramento em Ciência Política e Relações Internacionais: Segurança e Defesa

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