From the quest for autonomy to the dual break: structural and agential changes in Brazil’s foreign policy during the 21st century

Abstract

Informed by an understanding that the quest for autonomy can serve as a compass of Brazil’s foreign policy, this paper undertakes an extensive interpretative analysis of the concept in relation to the agency/structure debate. Our aim is to use these theoretical tools to analyse Brazil’s international action during the 21st century, paying special attention to Bolsonaro’s administration. This article argues that we are witnessing a dual break in autonomy: an essentially structural break related to the underlying trends currently redesigning the international world as we know it, and another more agential break, resulting from president Bolsonaro’s particular worldview.