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In the search for autonomy: Brazil's foreign policy on nuclear issues (1940–2011)

2012; Routledge; Volume: 24; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14781158.2012.716032

1478-1166

Diego Santos Vieira de Jesús,

International Relations and Foreign Policy

Abstract This article aims to examine Brazil's foreign policy on nuclear issues from 1940 to 2011 and identify the main factors that defined the ways through which Brazil searched for autonomy in issues related to nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It argues that changes in the ways through which Brazil searched for autonomy were results of external pressures from great power states and opportunities to engage with nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon states created by international institutions, as well as pressures from domestic actors such as congressmen, military men, nuclear researchers and civil society groups. Keywords: international relationsforeign policynuclear energynuclear policy; sovereignty Notes 1 Tullo Vigevani and Gabriel Cepaluni, 'Lula's Foreign Policy and the Quest for Autonomy through Diversification', Third World Quarterly 28, no. 7 (2007): 1311–13. 2 Previously, I worked with some of those ideas in Lula's administration in my article 'The Brazilian Way: Negotiation and Symmetry in Brazil s Nuclear Policy', The Nonproliferation Review 17, no. 3 (2010): 551–67. In this article, I go beyond the previous one in order to examine Brazil's foreign policy on issues related to nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy from 1940 to 2011 and identify the main domestic and international factors that defined the ways through which Brazil tried to search for autonomy in those issues. 3 See, for example, Marco Antônio Marzo and Silvio Gonçalves de Almeida, A evolução do controle de armas: desarmamento e não-proliferação (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Ciência Moderna Ltda., 2006); Maria Rost Rublee, 'The Nuclear Threshold States: Challenges and Opportunities Posed by Brazil and Japan', The Nonproliferation Review 17, no. 1 (2010): 49–70; Sarah Diehl and Eduardo Fujii, 'Brazil's New National Defense Strategy Calls for Strategic Nuclear Developments', NTI website (2009), http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_brazil_new_nuclear_defense.html#fnB6. 4 In order to develop a more thorough work, it is necessary to restrict this analysis to specific actors. When I use the expression 'decision-makers', I refer mainly to the main decision-makers in the Brazilian executive, specially the Brazilian president and/or the foreign minister. 'Great powers' is used in reference to the United States, the Soviet Union, West Germany, France, United Kingdom or the European Union. 'Congressmen' – when not referring to specific congressmen – refers to a median legislator who casts the deciding vote on international agreements or influences negotiators in the Executive. 'Military men', 'nuclear researchers' and 'civil society groups' – when not referring to specific actors – refer to a median member of those groups who had formal participation in any aspect of Brazilian nuclear activities or policies and/or pressured the decision-makers in the Executive on issues regarding nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear disarmament and/or peaceful uses of nuclear energy. 5 The 'interactive axis' seeks to focus on the strategic interaction between the international diplomatic game and the domestic political arena. Applying the basic properties of this axis based on Lima's contributions, I argue that the likelihood and terms of international cooperation depend basically on the goal-directed behavior by the actors that can seek to create mutual gains through policy adjustment. When there is convergence among the preferences of state representatives, foreign government and domestic actors (Congress and interest groups, mainly), cooperation becomes more likely and will reflect the basic preferences of state negotiators. When there is divergence between state representatives and foreign government, international cooperation is less likely. When there is divergence between state representatives and domestic actors and they share power over decision-making, international cooperation becomes more difficult and, because of the greater likelihood of failure to approve the agreement domestically, domestic actors tend to exert more influence over the terms of any possible agreement. For a more detailed explanation of the 'interactive axis', see Maria Regina Soares de Lima, 'Ejes Analíticos y Conflicto de Paradigmas en la Política Exterior Brasileña', América Latina/Internacional 1, no. 2 (1994): 27–46. 6 Ana Maria Ribeiro de Andrade, A opção nuclear: 50 anos rumo à autonomia (Rio de Janeiro: MAST, 2006), 18. 7 Marco Antônio Marzo and Silvio Gonçalves de Almeida, A evolução do controle de armas: desarmamento e não-proliferação (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Ciência Moderna Ltda., 2006), 191–2. 8 Paulo Wrobel, 'A questão nuclear nas relações Brasil-EUA' (MA diss., IUPERJ, Rio de Janeiro, 1986), 36. 9 Sharon Squassoni and David Fite, 'Brazil's Nuclear History', Arms Control Today (October 2005), http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2005_10/Oct-Brazil#BrazilHistory. 10 Olympio Guilherme, O Brasil e a era atômica (Rio de Janeiro: Vitória, 1957), 114. 11 Regina Lúcia Moraes Morel, Ciência e Estado: a política científica no Brasil (São Paulo: T.A. Queiroz, 1979), 98. 12 See Marzo and Almeida, A evolução do controle de armas, 191–2. 13 Morel, Ciência e Estado, 111. 14 Ibid., 111. 15 Carlos A. Girotti, Estado nuclear no Brasil (São Paulo: Brasiliense, 1984), 32. 16 Kurt Rudolf Mirow, Loucura nuclear: os enganos do Acordo Nuclear Brasil-Alemanha (Rio de Janeiro: Civilização Brasileira, 1979), 20. 17 Célia Maria Leite Costa, 'Acordo Nuclear Brasil-Alemanha (1975)', FGV CPDOC, http://cpdoc.fgv.br/producao/dossies/FatosImagens/AcordoNuclear. 18 Ana Maria Ribeiro de Andrade and Tatiane Lopes dos Santos, 'A criação da CNEN no contexto do governo JK', Parcerias Estratégicas 14, no. 29 (2009): 228–32. 19 San Tiago Dantas, Política Externa Independente (Rio de Janeiro: Editora Civilização Brasileira, 1962), 9. 20 Paulo Wrobel, 'A diplomacia nuclear brasileira: a não-proliferação nuclear e o Tratado de Tlatelolco', Contexto Internacional 15, no. 1 (1993): 28–32. 21 Ibid., 33–42. 22 Mónica Serrano, 'Common Security in Latin America. The 1967 Treaty of Tlatelolco', Institute of Latin American Studies Research Papers, University of London (1992), http://sas-space.sas.ac.uk/3582/1/B12_-_Common_Security_in_Latin_America_The_1697_Treaty_of_Tlatelolco.pdf. 23 Morel, Ciência e Estado, 112–14. 24 Marcelo Knobel, Roberto Belisário, and Ulisses Capozoli, 'A confusa política nuclear brasileira', Energia nuclear: custos de uma alternativa (2000), http://www.comciencia.br/reportagens/nuclear/nuclear09.htm. 25 Girotti, Estado nuclear no Brasil, 69. 26 Squassoni and Fite, 'Brazil's Nuclear History'. 27 Michael Barletta, 'The Military Nuclear Program in Brazil', CISAC (August 1997): 4–8. 28 Ibid., 17. 29 Ibid., 22. 30 See Squassoni and Fite, 'Brazil's Nuclear History'. 31 See Barletta, 'The Military Nuclear Program in Brazil', 19–20, and Squassoni and Fite, 'Brazil's Nuclear History'. 32 The growing energy demand generated by Brazilian industrialization brought the necessity to use the hydroelectric potential of Itaipu Dam in a bilateral initiative with Paraguay. Brazil and Paraguay started to cooperate on the Itaipu issue in the 1960s, and Argentina reacted. Argentina's leaders argued that they should have been consulted or previously informed about the construction of dams in international rivers of successive course. Brazilian authorities defended national sovereignty on Brazil's natural resources. Argentina started to work on the projects of Corpus, Yacyretá and Salto Grande in direct understandings with Paraguay and Uruguay. Tensions were eliminated in 1979, with a tripartite agreement signed by Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay which made the Itaipu and the Corpus projects compatible. For more information on the Itaipu–Corpus issue, see Maria Regina Soares de Lima, 'The Political Economy of Brazilian Foreign Policy: Nuclear Energy, Trade and Itaipu' (PhD diss., Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, 1986); and Alessandro Warley Candeas, 'Relações Brasil–Argentina: uma análise dos avanços e recuos', Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional 48, no. 1 (2005): 178–213. 33 See ABACC, 'A criação da ABACC', http://www.abacc.org/port/abacc/abacc_historia.htm; and Everton Garcia Vargas, 'Átomos na integração: a aproximação Brasil–Argentina no campo nuclear e a construção do Mercosul', Revista Brasileira de Política Internacional 40, no. 1 (1997): 52. 34 Julio C. Carasales, 'The Argentine–Brazilian Nuclear Rapprochement', Nonproliferation Review (Spring–Summer 1995): 42. 35 See Marzo and Almeida, A evolução do controle de armas, 199–206. 36 As John R. Redick indicates, Argentina, Brazil and Chile retained an organic relationship to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, while delayed its entry into force for their territory until they judged that circumstances would permit it. They would take no action contrary to the objectives of the treaty during that period in which the agreement was not yet in force for them. For more information on the Treaty of Tlatelolco and regional nonproliferation initiatives, see John R. Redick, 'Tlatelolco and Regional Nonproliferation Initiatives', OPANAL, http://www.opanal.org/Articles/cancun/can-Redick.htm#*11. 37 See Carasales, 'The Argentine–Brazilian Nuclear Rapprochement', 43. 38 See ibid., 45. 39 Tullo Vigevani and Marcelo Fernandes de Oliveira, 'Brazilian Foreign Policy in the Cardoso Era: The Search for Autonomy through Integration', Latin American Perspectives 34, no. 5 (2007): 59–60. 40 Nuclear Suppliers Group, 'What is the NSG?', http://www.nuclearsuppliersgroup.org/Leng/default.htm. 41 Valentina Waisman, 'Argentina y Brasil: Percepciones y Posturas Actuales Frente al Régimen de No Proliferación Nuclear', Revista Política Hoje 19, no. 2 (2010): 496–9. 42 Luiz Felipe Lampreia, 'Remarks on Brazil's Accession to the NPT', September 18, 1998, http://www.fas.org/nuke/control/npt/news/98091823_llt.html. 43 Sharon Squassoni and David Fite, 'Brazil as Litmus Test: Resende and Restrictions on Uranium Enrichment', Arms Control Today (October 2005), http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2005_10/Oct-Brazil_. 44 Tatiana Coutto, 'May I Join You? Brazilian Nuclear Industry and the Treaty of Non Proliferation' (paper presented at the IPSA–ECPR Joint Conference: Whatever Happened to North and South?, São Paulo, February 18, 2011). 45 New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, http://www.mfat.govt.nz/Foreign-Relations/1-Global-Issues/Disarmament/0-Nuclear/0-new-agenda-coalition.php. 46 Rebecca Johnson, 'The NPT Review: Disaster Averted', Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 56, no. 4 (2000), http://www.thebulletin.org/article.php?art_ofn=ja00johnson. 47 Lawrence Scheinman, 'Disarmament: Have the Five Nuclear Powers Done Enough?', Arms Control Today (January/February 2005), http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2005_01-02/Scheinman.asp. 48 Jean du Preez, 'The 2005 NPT Review Conference: Can It Meet the Nuclear Challenge?', Arms Control Today (April 2005), http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2005_04/duPreez.asp. 49 Rebecca Johnson, 'Politics and Protection: Why the 2005 NPT Review Conference Failed', Disarmament Diplomacy 80 (2005), http://www.acronym.org.uk/dd/dd80/80npt.htm. 50 New Zealand on behalf of the New Agenda Coalition (statement by H.E. Don MacKay, Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, General Debate, April 28, 2008). 51 New Agenda Coalition Paper, submitted to the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 NPT Review Conference, NPT/CONF.2010/PC.II/WP.26, April 30, 2008. 52 Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, 'Temas multilaterais – Desarmamento', Balanço de Política Externa 2003/2010 (2011), http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/temas/balanco-de-politica-externa-2003-2010/3.2.18-temas-multilaterais-desarmamento/at_download/file. 53 Vigevani and Cepaluni, 'Lula's Foreign Policy and the Quest for Autonomy through Diversification', 1314–15. 54 Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, 'Temas multilaterais – Desarmamento'. 55 Sarah Diehl and Eduardo Fujii, 'Brazil's New National Defense Strategy Calls for Strategic Nuclear Developments', NTI, October 30, 2009, http://www.nti.org/e_research/e3_brazil_new_nuclear_defense.html#fnB6. 56 Maria Rost Rublee, 'The Nuclear Threshold States: Challenges and Opportunities Posed by Brazil and Japan', Nonproliferation Review (March 2010): 54. 57 Claire Applegarth, 'Brazil Permits Greater IAEA Inspection', Arms Control Today (November 2004), http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2004_11/Brazil. 58 See ibid. 59 Squassoni and Fite, 'Brazil as Litmus Test'. 60 Eletronuclear. 'Guia de pronta resposta' (2011), http://www.eletronuclear.gov.br/perguntas_respostas/GUIA_2011.pdf. 61 Squassoni and Fite, 'Brazil as Litmus Test'. 62 See Applegarth, 'Brazil Permits Greater IAEA Inspection'. 63 Tehran Declaration, May 17, 2010, http://www.mfa.gov.tr/17_05_2010-joint-declaration-of-the-ministers-of-foreign-affairs-of-turkey_-iran-and-brazil_.en.mfa. 64 Celso Amorim, 'Brazil and the Middle East'. The Cairo Review of Global Affairs (2011), http://www.aucegypt.edu/GAPP/CairoReview/Pages/articleDetails.aspx?aid=64. 65 See CASMII, 'A Lesson in Bad Faith: The Vienna Group's Response to the Brazil–Iran–Turkey Joint Declaration', July 14, 2010, http://www.campaigniran.org/casmii/index.php?q=node/10540; and ISIS, 'Iran's Proposed LEU Deal: Skeptical but Awaiting Clarification', ISIS Reports, May 17, 2010, http://isis-online.org/isis-reports/detail/irans-proposed-leu-deal-skeptical-but-awaiting-clarification/. 66 See Diego Santos Vieira de Jesus, 'Building Trust and Flexibility: A Brazilian View of the Fuel Swap with Iran', The Washington Quarterly 34, no. 2 (2011): 61–75. 67 See Amorim, 'Brazil and the Middle East'. 68 World Bulletin, 'Brazil "Quits as Mediator" over Iran, Turkey Alone', June 21, 2010, http://www.worldbulletin.net/index.php?aType=haber&ArticleID=60253. 69 See Jesus, 'Building Trust and Flexibility', 66–9. 70 See Diehl and Fujii, 'Brazil's New National Defense Strategy Calls for Strategic Nuclear Developments'. 71 See Eletronuclear, 'Guia de pronta resposta'. 72 See Diehl and Fujii, 'Brazil's New National Defense Strategy Calls for Strategic Nuclear Developments'. 73 Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, 'Temas multilaterais – Energia nuclear', Balanço de Política Externa 2003/2010 (2011), http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/temas/balanco-de-politica-externa-2003-2010/3.2.13-temas-multilaterais-energia-nuclear/at_download/file. 74 See Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, 'Temas multilaterais – Desarmamento'; and NPS Global, 'Nuclear Agreement between Argentina and Brazil after Dilma Rousseff's Official Visit' (2011), http://npsglobal.org/eng/news/139-peaceful-uses/1001-nuclear-agreement-argentina-brazil-dilma-rousseff-official-visit.html. 75 Luís Machado, 'Brasil e Argentina assinam acordo para construção de reatores nucleares de pesquisa', Informe CNEN 2 (2011), http://www.cnen.gov.br/noticias/lst-noticias-informe.asp?ano=2011&num=2. 76 See NPS Global, 'Nuclear Agreement between Argentina and Brazil after Dilma Rousseff's Official Visit'. 77 Joint Statement by President Rousseff and President Obama. Brasília, March 19, 2011, http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/sala-de-imprensa/notas-a-imprensa/comunicado-conjunto-da-presidenta-dilma-rousseff-e-do-presidente-barack-obama-brasilia-19-de-marco-de-2011/?searchterm=nuclear dilma. 78 'Dilma Rousseff e Marina Silva expõem suas idéias sobre política externa', Política Externa 19, no. 2 (2010), 24. 79 Fars News Agency, 'Brazil Criticizes World Powers for Ignoring "Tehran Declaration"', September 27, 2011, http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9007040250. 80 See Ray Acheson, 'Report on the High-Level Meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security', Reaching Critical Will, September 22, 2011, http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/energy/hlm/RCW-report.html. 81 New Zealand on behalf of the New Agenda Coalition, Statement by Dell Higgie, Ambassador for Disarmament on behalf of the New Agenda Coalition, UNGA 66: First Committee, General Debate, October 3, 2011. 82 India–Brazil–South Africa (IBSA) Dialogue Forum, Fifth Summit of Heads of State and Government, Tshwane Declaration, October 18, 2011, http://www.itamaraty.gov.br/sala-de-imprensa/notas-a-imprensa/v-cupula-do-forum-de-dialogo-india-brasil-e-africa-do-sul-ibas-2013-18-de-outubro-de-2011-declaracao-de-tshwane/?searchterm=nuclear dilma.