Padrão de Resposta

Brazilian diplomacy is traditionally based on pragmatism. Since the creation of the United Nations (UN), the country has played an important role in strengthening the world order, notably in what concerns international peace and security. Regarding its participation in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Brazil is, along with Japan, the only country that has been elected eleven times as a nonpermanent member. Additionally, the fall of the Berlin wall marked the beginning of a new era in international politics, notably because of the emergence of middling powers, such as Brazil, India, Japan and Germany. Since then, Brazil has strengthened its attitude, approach and drive in search of a permanent seat in the UNSC and this can be seen in each Brazilian administration between the period of 1992 and 2019.
During the governments led by Itamar Franco, Fernando Henrique Cardoso e Lula da Silva, Brazilian foreign policy showed willingness to bear more responsibilities in the task of tackling international challenges. This strategy presented Brazil as a country increasingly ready to become a UNSC permanent member. For instance, during Franco’s administration, Brazil actively engaged in the process that resulted in the creation of the World Trade Organization, the cornerstone of the international trade regime. During Cardoso’s administration, in turn, the country concluded the ratification of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, reinforcing global peace. Finally, during Silva’s administration, Brazil led the mission created to stabilize Haiti (MINUSTAH), which was authorized by the UNSC.
During the following three administrations, which were led respectively by Dilma, Temer and Bolsonaro (who is still in charge), Brazil played a crucial role within the UNSC. In 2011, as a nonpermanent member, Brazil presented the concept of “responsibility while protecting” (RwP), in order to prevent violations against a country’s sovereignty. Furthermore, despite not being a nonpermanent member of the UNSC during Temer’s administration, Brazil stated that the task of reforming the UNSC must be met with a sense of urgency. Unsurprisingly, in the current administration, the country has been elected for a nonpermanent seat once again. Therefore, this shows that the country will continue to play an important role concerning international security.
Taking this historical background into account, in my opinion, Brazil cannot see its aspiration to become a UNSC permanent member as an insurmountable challenge. In fact, Brazil’s future behavior should be based on pragmatism and idealism. The first will probably led to practical results, such as the implementation of possible change in the number of nonpermanent members, which was done once, in 1965. The latter can pave the way for a comprehensive reform, which should take into account G4’s perspective, notably in what concerns the aspiration of Brazil, Germany, India and Japan to become permanent members.
All in all, the world has changed since the creation of the UNSC. Reforming this UN body has become increasingly important in order to make war less likely. Since the end of the Cold War, Brazilian diplomacy has shown__willingness to bear more responsibilities in the world order, notably regarding security matters. While engaging in realistic reforms in the short term, the country should keep its aspiration to become a UNSC permanent member in the long term. Should future administrations understand this, the whole country will benefit from it.