Analyzing South Globalism in Brazilian Foreign Policy: Civilizational Autonomism under Lula and Dilma (2003–2016)

Brazilian foreign policy has historically undertaken efforts to assert the country’s autonomy within the international order. These attempts have, at various times, permeated the very formation of national interest and projected themselves onto specific conceptions of modernization and belonging to the Global South. Drawing on the ideas of Darcy Ribeiro and specialized literature, this article proposes a civilizational approach to Brazilian foreign policy, emphasizing the pursuit of civilizational autonomy in an increasingly multipolar world, while simultaneously affirming the country’s sovereignty and considering cultural plurality as the foundation for its independent international engagement. This autonomism simultaneously affirms state sovereignty and valorises its inherent cultural diversity as a cornerstone for independent international engagement. Based on this typological framework, this article elucidates the manner in which Brazil interpreted multipolarity as an opportunity to consolidate a unified national project within the context of a complex and ongoing systemic transition.