A BRAZILIAN STATUS DILEMMA IN THE UKRAINE WAR? BETWEEN BEING A ‘DO-GOOD’ STATE AND A BRICS MEMBER

Abstract

Brazil’s position concerning the war in Ukraine has been the target of harsh criticism. Once it did not impose sanctions, due to its close its political ties with Russia, some perceive that Brazil has prioritized its alliances to the detriment of establishing peace conditions in the region. However, the Brazilian president, Lula da Silva, has recurrently affirmed that he strives to promote peace in Ukraine. His discourses exemplify Brazil’s strategy of being a ‘do-good’ state, to gain international status. Applying the ‘social identity theory’ and analyzing official discourses and mass media posts, this study concluded that Brazil attempted to gain status by utilizing a ‘creativity’ strategy. This strategy vowed to portray Brazil as a peace promoter. However, this strategy failed because of Brazil’s proximity to Russia. Paradoxically, this proximity to Russia also happens due to status-seeking. As a forum where Brazil has close contacts with China and other powers, the BRICS works as a fundamental space for Brazil to acquire international recognition. Therefore, I propose that Brazil has faced a status dilemma: capitalize its image within the BRICS or maintain a ‘do-good’ state image.