O regime militar brasileiro e a República da China : anticomunismo e relações internacionais (1964-1974)

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to analyze and understand the main aspects of the relations between the Brazilian military regime and the Republic of China (nationalist China) in order to discuss to which extent anti-communism, a value shared by both regimes, constituted the relations between them. Our timeframe starts in 1964, with the rise of the military regime to power in Brazil, and ends in 1974, when Brazil, still under the military regime, decides to recognize communist China. The main primary sources were the letters sent by the Brazilian embassy in Taipei and the Chinese newspapers of that time, both of which are available in the archives of Itamaraty in Brasília. We complemented those sources with the annual reports of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, accounts of Brazilian diplomats, and works produced by students of the Brazilian War College. Our theoretical framework was the constructivist scholarship of International Relations, which emphasizes the importance of shared desires, values, and beliefs between international actors. Constructivism helped us understand the importance of anti-communism, a value shared between the Brazilian military regime and nationalist China, in creating an identity between both countries. On the other hand, constructivism also allowed us to understand how desires and values shared between the Brazilian military regime and communist China helped bringing both states together, culminating with the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1974. Such values were: the belief in the relevance of the North-South antagonism (as well as the weakening of the East-West conflict), the refusal to accept the power freeze by the superpowers, the search for national development and for an autonomous foreign policy.