Rising Powers and the Security–Development Nexus: Brazil's Engagement with Guinea-Bissau

Abstract

Over the past decade, Brazil has stepped up its involvement in international security and development. However, few studies have looked at how Brazil's concrete experiences in post-conflict and fragile states have shaped its broader positions on key security and development issues (and vice versa). Analysing Brazil's role in Guinea-Bissau, this article asks how Brazilian government actors interpret the intersection between security and development. Drawing on a combination of document analysis and interviews, findings suggest that the Brazilian government has rejected labels such as ‘failed state’ and ‘narco-state’ and that cooperation needs to address the multidimensional causes of Guinea-Bissau's instability. Brazil's stress on combining security sector reform with broader institution-building and socioeconomic development reflects a somewhat different emphasis than the approach promoted by actors that have concentrated more narrowly on curbing the drug trade.