Role constellations and foreign policy: Brazil and Chile’s approaches towards the Belt and Road Initiative

Abstract

ABSTRACT Following the inclusion of Latin America into the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2018, countries in the region have formulated different responses to it. Some joined while others remain distant. Current BRI-related literature falls short of consistently explaining countries’ foreign policy decisions towards the BRI. In discerning the reasons why developing countries that are economically dependent on China joined the BRI or not, this article argues that countries’ different role constellations with China shape their foreign policy vis-à-vis the BRI. It contends that under a congruent role constellation – in which the conception of a cooperative role with China is congruent with other roles, foreign policymakers are inclined to form a benign perception of the BRI. This would inform deference to the BRI. Under a conflicting role constellation in which the conception of a cooperative role with China runs in conflict with other roles, foreign policymakers’ perception tends to be more ambiguous or malign about the BRI. Therefore, non-deference is adopted. This study focuses on Brazil and Chile’s enactment of different roles, and concludes that Brazil’s conflicting role constellation and Chile’s congruent role constellation have led them to formulate opposite approaches towards the BRI.