A política de defesa como a continuação da política externa por outros meios? O caso do Atlântico Sul

Abstract

Even though Brazilian foreign policy is traditionally aligned with pacifist principles, and the national defense policy has historically obtained a low degree of prioritization, it is possible to identify that the Federal Government, especially the Foreign Relations Ministry, has gradually increased its emphasis on subjects related to defense over the past few decades. This perception supports the idea that a fruitful coordination between the two policies allows the country to pursue its interests in the international arena in a more assertive way and, thus, to obtain greater gains. Therefore, this paper seeks to analyze how this articulation took place, between 1999 and 2012, regarding the geographic scope of the South Atlantic. It is concluded that, unlike what the more traditional bibliography states, the interaction between the policies presented a high and satisfactory level of synergy, which is evident in the multiple initiatives in the area of defense developed for the region and in the inedited documents formulated during the referred period.