Regional Leadership through Global Channels: Autonomy, diversification and acceptance

MELISA DECIANCIO

Ciudad del Cabo

Workshop; The Role of Regional Leaders in Africa and at the Global Level; 2012

University of Cape Town

During the last decades, and particularly with the Inacio Lula Da Silva's administration, Brazil has emerged as a new actor with an evident active role in the international arena. Becoming a middle power with regional leadership aspirations and global influence ambitions has been the main goal of the Palacio do Planalto and Itamaraty. Evidence of this can be found when analyzing Brazilian active role in most of the multilateral foras it participates at the regional and at the global level. The new configuration of the world order gave regional leaders an opportunity to become part of the global rule making and be able to make developing countries' interests to be heard with a stronger voice at the global level. In this sense, multilateral foras, both the old and the new ones, became fundamental spaces for emerging countries like Brazil to exercise their regional leadership while strengthening their international recognition and influencing global governance. This article will focus on how the Lula administration managed to strengthen its position as a regional leader trough global governance channels. I argue that international foras became useful spaces for emerging powers to gain acceptance among its neighbors to become regional leaders. That is, Brazilian intentions to lead in South America have been accompanied by a strong activism in multilateral organizations that led to its neighbors’ acceptance as a leader when representing their interests in global governance institutions but showing some resistance when challenging their power in the region.