Brazil-U.S. Relations: A Geopolitical Evaluation

 To put this intellectual and political background into context, the article looks at the evolution of Brazilian geopolitical thinking and how it has had direct or indirect effects on so-called strategic matters, or the development of Brazil since the early 2000s. These changes can be summed up in three main categories. In the first place, Costa's (1992) study showed that geopolitics in Brazil was mostly the job of the government, especially the military, for fifty years, from 1930 to 1980. So, it mostly showed the dominant ideas that started to spread in the country at the start of the 1930s, which aimed to make the role of the national government even more important in development projects in general. This is why the geopolitical thought that started at that time and grew over the next few decades was able to shape both the internal structure of the state and its image to the rest of the world in politics, strategy, the economy, and culture. Second, the study mentioned above also shows that, similar to what happened in Germany and South American countries like Brazil, Argentina, and Chile, the military institutional and intellectual hegemony over geopolitics benefited a lot from the fact that it had to do with coming up with ideas and deciding how they would be used in State policies, where many of the people in charge were also the ones who thought of the ideas, made the policies, and carried them out.

Geopolitics has its roots in academic thought

As we all know, geopolitics has its roots in academic thought. It came to life, though, by focusing on its practical and useful aspects to the fullest. It was either used because the military had a lot of power over civilian governments, or because military regimes took over and ruled many countries in the region after the 1960s. Third, this practical approach to geopolitics has been used in Brazil for sixty years, a country on the edge of the continent that has continental dimensions. It has been a key part of the country's strategic planning and often led the way in territorial policies1, which include planning for the country's organization and its cities, regions, and the environment. In other words, the policies for defending and integrating the country, building Brasilia, defending and integrating the country in the Amazon and the South Atlantic, allocating resources for energy and transportation facilities, and making sure people can live there. In the end, the main ideas and actions of classical geopolitics, which were influenced by Ratzel and Mackinder, can be summed up as a radicalization of the principles of territorial unity, the strengthening of national power, and the strategy that goes with it to project power abroad. Analysts who have studied the history of Brazilian geopolitics agree that Mário Travassos, an army officer who wrote a study called Continental Projection of Brazil (1947), best captures the mix of ideas and actions during the so-called intellectual hegemony phase of military inspiration. At this point, the plan for how the country would deal with South America in the coming decades was first written down. It's important to note the contributions of two other military geopoliticians, generals Golbery (1952) and Meira Mattos (1975), who were both affected by Travassos and had a big impact on the country's strategic planning.

Usually, geopolitics develops on the edges of academia in peripheral countries like Brazil

However, it should be noted that the military did not do this on purpose; it was also a natural result of the process of geography and other human sciences becoming less important. Geographers in Brazil, like those in Europe and North America, liked to keep a "prudent distance" from geopolitics because they thought it went against ethics, morals, and science. This was mostly because of the problems and adventures that happened during World War II.

In fact, it was the normal way for people to act when they refuse to include each other. The break in this model didn't happen in Brazil until the early 1980s, and it caused big changes in many areas of the country's life. Starting with how quickly the country changed, especially through industry, urbanization, and modernization in general, which picked up speed in the 1960s and 1970s. In the meantime, there were big changes in the country's population, social structure, and most importantly, its democratic process. These changes were sped up by laws that granted political prisoners, exiles, and people whose political rights had been suspended amnesty in 1969, as well as the right to freely join a political party, direct elections for state governors in 1982, the Constituent Congress in 1988, and the first direct election for President of the Republic in 1989. It is in this new national setting that the first groups of academic thinkers begin to study geopolitics with a clear civil mind that is not authoritarian and has a lot of freedom when it comes to the State.

The work of Miyamoto (1981), Becker (1982), Mello (1987), and Costa (1988) is a good example of that time of change

Becker's study from 1988 is the most famous of these studies. In it, the author talks about the gap between old and new ideas in that field and suggests ways for theoretical reflection that includes not only a wider range of subjects and topics to study but also new ways of thinking about how to bring together Geopolitics, Human Geography, and modern Political Science. But it's also important to note the big effect that French intellectual events had on Brazilian academics and the excitement that Yves Lacoste's ideas and the work of his group from the University of Vincennes caused, especially among those who were interested in how geography, ideology, and politics are connected. The fiery little book he wrote called "La géographie, ça sert d'abord à faire la guerre" and the first issue of the magazine Hérodote, both came out in 1976. They were important moments in the history of both Brazilian geography and geopolitics.