Explaining the Changes in Brazilian Foreign Policy towards South America under Michel Temer’s Administration (2016-2018): The Return to the Logic of Open Regionalism

Abstract

The administration of President Michel Temer (2016-2018) led to significant changes in Brazilian foreign policy towards South America as opposed to the country’s goals that had remained in place for over a decade. This article addresses the question of how and why these changes unfolded under Temer’s government. Anchored in an analytical framework of Public Policy Analysis, we develop two main arguments. Firstly, we claim that the changes in foreign policy towards South America represented a paradigmatic transition from a post-liberal strategy to the restoration of the logic of open regionalism. Secondly, we argue that this change resulted from the coupling of the three dimensions of the political process: problem recognition, policy alternatives, and politics. The primary cause of such change was the political dispute in the public arena between business groups and party leadership.