Interdependent international relations and the expansion of ethanol production and consumption: the Brazilian perspective

Abstract

The global production and consumption of ethanol are expected to increase. The growing interdependence of markets and nations, producers and consumers of biofuels, has led actors to seek and devise mechanisms intended to develop the sector. This paper aims to analyze the interdependent international relations between Brazil and other ethanol biofuel producer and consumer countries. To do so, the paper explores the Theory of Complex Interdependence and the Game Theory. A quali-quantitative study was conducted involving the application of two questionnaires to experts on biofuels and documentary analysis aided by QDA Miner® software. The results show that Brazil shares highly interdependent relations with The United States, an intermediate degree of interdependence with Europe and a low degree of interdependence with China. The dimensions of those interdependent relations can be ranked, according to importance, in the following order: first the political, then the economic, technical and finally the social–environmental dimensions. A number of actions can be envisaged that could lead ethanol to achieve an increasingly strategic position in the diversification of the energy matrix in different countries: technological efforts to improve production efficiency; the creation of globally-integrated policies designed to provide security and develop the production and consumption infrastructure; the reduction of international tariffs on the product; and the transformation of ethanol into a global commodity with a large number of countries buying and selling the product. This paper faced the challenge of integrating approaches and concepts from two complex theoretical areas: Complex Interdependence Theory and Game Theory. The research methodology and the insights gained from the ethanol case contribute to the literature on the applicability of these two theoretical approaches.