Brazil in the Americas: Convergencies and Perspectives

As an economic and political power in South America, Brazil has been attempting to strengthen its international position for years. Of primary importance are relations with its neighboring Hispano-American countries and with the United States. Traditionally Brazil’s relationship with the Americas has oscillated between (a) a disinterested aloofness toward Hispano-American countries that is nourished by the desire for an intensive relationship with Europe or the United States, (b) a rivalry with its South American neighbors that has its historical roots in the colonial disputes between Spain and Portugal, and (c) the role as a stabilizing and cooperative force in Latin America. 

Two project conferences have taken place in cooperation with the Latin American Institute of the Free University of Berlin (Sérgio Costa) and the Universidad de Chile (Horst Nitschack): “Brasilien im amerikanischen Kontext um 1900” (“Brazil in the American Context around 1900,” October 2002) and “O Brasil e as Américas – Convergencias e Perspectivas / Brazil and the Americas – Convergences and Perspectives” (December 2004).