This presentation was made at Chatham House on 14 October 2014 by Dr Alex Shankland. He presented evidence from the IDS Rising Powers in International Development programme work on how Brazil engages in international development. More info available at: www.ids.ac.uk/risingpowers

1. Rising Powers in International Development
The State of the Debate in Brazil:
From Solidarity to Win-Win?
Dr Alex Shankland, Institute of Development Studies

2. Introduction
•Brazil in the world, the world in Brazil
•The Lula years: expansion and pluralisation
•The Dilma years: from surge to stalling
•Domestic drivers, institutional and policy framework
•The political moment and scenarios to 2015 and beyond

3. Background and history (1)
The world in Brazil
• Early and relatively easy exit from colonial rule
• Forced/mass migration from many continents (Africa, Europe, Asia)
• FDI recipient from the Empire du jour
• Contested location in US sphere of influence
• ISI legacy and low aid-dependence: development cooperation as primarily a
symbolic rather than an economic relationship
Brazil in the world
• Peace with the neighbours
• Post-independence South Atlantic geopolitics
• Foreign policy bipolarity: leader of the South / follower of the North
• Itamaraty: skilful system-navigation, low-intensity Africanism
• Early adherence to South-South Cooperation but late institutionalisation

4. Background and history (2)
The Lula factor
• Brazil as a model for inclusive growth
• The near abroad: entente and economic hegemony in Latin America
• Presidential diplomacy in Africa: identity discourse, supporter recruitment
• BNDES and the internationalisation of national champions
• Riding the post-2008 realignment and rise of BRICS
Expansion and pluralisation
• ABC as service provider not agenda-setter
• Sectoral and subnational state actors with ‘independent foreign policies’
• Unacknowledged and contested alignment with Brazilian FDI
• Civil society focus on risk of ‘exporting Brazil’s contradictions’

5. Components of Brazilian development cooperation (1)
Changing shares of different modalities in officially-reported Brazilian development
cooperation spend: COBRADI data 2005–2010
Source: Leite et al. 2014: 24

6. Components of Brazilian development cooperation (2)
Calculating shares of total Brazilian development cooperation spend: Approximate
variation in share of each modality in total disbursements (COBRADI 2005–2009 vs total
including other modalities for the same period)
Source: Leite et al. 2014: 27, based on Cabral (2011) and Farani (2011b)

7. The Dilma years: from surge to stalling
Changes in ABC budget allocation, actual spend and number of activities starting per
year, 2003-2010
Source: Leite et al. 2014: 26

8. Government actors
Itamaraty and ABC
• ABC’s subordinate position within Itamaraty
• Outdated (recipient-era) institutional structure, chronic staffing constraints
• Budget cuts after 2010
• Successfully resisted disbandment after May 2013 announcement of new
‘trade and cooperation agency’
• CGFOME as an alternative pole within Itamaraty (Haiti, social movements)
Other players
• Ministries: MDIC, MDS, MoH
• The big sectoral agencies: Embrapa, Fiocruz, ‘Structuring Cooperation’
• The General Secretariat of the Presidency
• The military and the security establishment
• Subnational governments and cities

9. Non-state actors
Private sector
• A few pioneering SMEs and medium-scale agribusiness operations
• Predominant pattern: internationalisation of champions and their suppliers
• Expansion of BNDES support to mega-projects: extractives, infrastructure
Civil society
• History of solidarity-based civil-society-led SSC, but losing Northern funding
• Growing frustration at exclusion from official development cooperation
• Critical focus on transparency (BNDES), corporate links, ‘models’
Academia
• Growing interest and activity among universities and think-tanks
• Predominant alignment with PT and civil society (GRRI)
• Growing links with other Rising Powers (BRICS Academic Forum, IPEA / NeST)

10. State of the debate: build-up of pressures…
… to reform the legal and institutional framework
• Restrictions on overseas disbursements
• Dependence on international agencies
• Limited funding windows for civil society engagement
… to live up to Lula’s promises
• Responding to induced demand, especially in Africa
• Growing interest of DAC donors in TDC, other collaboration
• Expectations created by BRICS (New Development Bank)
• Increased emphasis on multilateral allies and positions (FAO, WTO)
… to show distinctiveness
• Civil society demands for inclusive models, human rights criteria
• Agencies’ interest in M&E, impact, SSC harmonisation

11. Public debate and post-election perspectives
• Limited public awareness, low levels of media visibility
• Generally favourable public view of development cooperation
• Key debates under Dilma:
– solidarity / self-interest
– Going out / pulling back
• Key debates in the PT / PSDB electoral standoff:
– Southern- / Western- orientation
– Minilateralism + multilateralism / bilateralism
– Near abroad + Africa / hemisphere