Brazil’s foreign policy identity: a western player in the international arena of the twenty-first century?

Thisstudy examines the ‘Westernness’ underlying Brazil’s foreign policy between2003 and 2025. This is an intriguing subject since Brazilian foreignpolicymakers have been identifying the country as a ‘Western power’ and ‘emergingpower’ situated within the Global South. Drawing upon the intrasubjectiveapproach of Ontological Security theory, this article scrutinises how Brazil’sWestern identity has been articulated in its foreign policy across differentgovernments. It concludes that the ways in which foreign policymakers haveexpressed the Western identity of the country have undergone significantvariations as Brazil has demonstrated reflexive capacity while projectingvarious, sometimes competing, identities. Moreover, the country’s ambiguouspositions regarding the war in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflicthave the potential to trigger ‘dislocatory events’ for its ontologicalsecurity. These developments place its Western identity under strain, sincesuch events expose inconsistencies within Brazil’s identities as a Westernpower and a member of the Global South.