From Great Expectations to Dwindling Status: Brazilian Diplomacy’s Response to Post-Cold War Upheavals

Abstract

Brazilian professional diplomacy is one of the oldest and most traditional of the Global South and is internationally recognized. To a large extent, the stability of Brazilian Foreign Policy is associated with the image of the diplomatic corporation, known as Itamaraty (a reference to the historic palace that housed the diplomatic bureaucracy in Rio de Janeiro, at the time it was still the capital of Brazil). The literature focused on the analysis of Brazilian foreign policy points out that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is recognized as a structure strongly associated with a tradition of elitism, bureaucratic isolation, and corporatism. This image serves to reiterate among professional diplomats a sense of monopoly on the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. Professional diplomats in Brazil, however, have faced challenges after the Cold War that are like those of other countries. This chapter presents a set of crucial themes about how the interconnection between domestic and international variables affected Itamaraty. Underpinning this narrative is the argument that despite the severe rejuvenation of the Brazilian diplomatic corps, Itamaraty has been slow to update its working methods, governance structure, and mission.