Brazil: What Rise of What Power?

Abstract

From 2003, the Lula administration has started a discourse and a practice of Brazil as a major international player. However, the conversion of a giant economy and political activism into regional and global power status has eluded Brazil so far. Labels such as great power or leader do not fit it. This article suggests that the problem is not with Brazil being unable to tick all the boxes but with the definitions that we use. Hence a call for new mental categories that better capture the surge of Brazil and other emerging powers in the twenty-first century. Drawing from the business literature, Brazil can be better understood as an international manager.