One Step Forward and Two Steps Back: Addressing Brazil's Structural Constraints to Move on with the Global South as a Political Project

Abstract

The ideals of the Global South designed the possibility of a shared political project across developing States, in which they could strengthen their bonds to achieve mutual interests through South-South cooperation. However, materialising such ideals is still an accomplishment to be completed, surrounded by structural circumstances at both international and domestic levels. Considering how this situation affects the relationship between Brazilian South-South Cooperation and the construction of the Global South as a political project, we aimed to explore the mentioned structural challenges. We focused on two axes: the remaining issues throughout the construction of the Global South as an alternative perspective in International Relations and the changes in the Brazilian position regarding this agenda, directly related to governmental transitions. Among other causes, lack of coordination and institutional memory mechanisms were found to be the main issues, fostering further debate and thoughts.