Talk Synopsis
The current geopolitical scenario is marked by the intensifying competition between the United States and the People’s Republic of China, the two global superpowers. This presentation aims to explore the historical backdrop, evolving dynamics, and collateral effects of this power struggle. It will make an argument suggesting that Brazil under the current leadership of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is navigating the U.S.-China strategic rivalry with pragmatic ambivalence while pursuing an autonomous diplomatic approach. It contends that Brazil’s proactiveness and self-assuredness should not be misconstrued as a defiant or non-collaborative attitude.
Speaker’s Profile
Dawisson Belém Lopes is a Professor of International and Comparative Politics at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) and a Research Fellow of the National Council for Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) in Brazil. From 2018 to 2022, he served as UFMG’s Deputy Dean for International Affairs. Having authored/edited ten books and dozens of peer-reviewed articles on topics related to Latin American politics, Brazilian foreign policy, and international institutions, Professor Lopes previously was a visiting researcher at the German Institute for Global and Area Studies in Hamburg, (Germany, 2013), visiting professor at the Catholic University of Louvain in Mons (Belgium, 2016), Raisina Young Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi (India, 2017) and SUSI Scholar on Foreign Policy at the University of Delaware (USA, 2021). He has already given lectures at the invitation of 7 national governments and the UN, and delivered presentations or published his articles in 30 different countries.