05 November 2020 · Oliver Stuenkel
https://peacelab.blog/2020/11/protecting-multilateralism-against-anti-globalists-the-case-of-brazil
Nationalist leaders like Brazil’s Bolsonaro who attack multilateralism for electoral gain at home still largely get away with it as they face little negative repercussions. Europe and Germany should make trade agreements and accession to the OECD conditional on more responsible and multilateral policies and target local elites with diplomatic pressure campaigns.
How should countries like Germany that intend to strengthen multilateralism deal with nationalist leaders who systematically attack the rules-based international order for political gain at home? Brazil is a remarkable case in point. After decades of being one of the world’s most ardent defenders of global governance, and one of Berlin’s key partners in international fora, the election of president Jair Bolsonaro has transformed Latin America’s largest country into a powerhouse of anti-globalism, stoking nationalist sentiment and systematically attacking organizations such as the United Nations for supposedly undermining national sovereignty. Updating ideas promoted by the far-right John Birch Society in the 1960s, it is now commonplace to hear the president’s supporters worry about the threats of ‘globalism’, ‘climatism’ and ‘communism’.
More Than Words: Brazil’s Attacks Against Multilateral Institutions Have Real Consequences
Yet, Brazil’s anti-multilateral behavior has gone beyond rhetoric. Bolsonaro’s Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo has not only been fiercely critical of the European Union; he has…
Read full article here
