AS PEGADAS DO DRAGÃO NO PÓLO SUL: UM ESTUDO SOBRE AS ESTRATÉGIAS E AS AÇÕES CHINESAS PARA ANTÁRTICA E SUAS IMPLICAÇÕES PARA O BRASIL

The starting point of the article is the perception of the relevant role that China has been gaining in the international arena and the competitive and geopolitical pressure that it has been exercising in the most diverse international strategic theaters, including in the Polar Regions – Arctic and Antarctic. Considering the relevance of the Antarctic, the present article analyzes the Chinese strategy and its growing presence in the Antarctic and its implications for Brazil, using the theoretical frameworks of classical geopolitics, realism, and the theory of global power.

AFRICA AND THE ‘GLOBALIZATION BARGAIN’: TOWARDS A COLLECTIVE ECONOMIC SOVEREIGNTY

Africa’s existential situation in the prevailing global order is such that no state thereof can afford to take national sovereignty too seriously. Apart from the myriad of structural challenges imposed on the continent by globalization, Africa is faced with a gamut of political and economic problems that can only be meaningfully addressed through some form of strategic multilateral collaboration. Africa’s aspiration to economic sovereignty has been constrained by the structural conditionalities of globalization, which have kept the continent overly weak, dependent and underdeveloped. The constraint is so immanent that individual African states can hardly afford even the relative sovereignty to harness a strategic balance in the fast ossifying asymmetries of interdependence that characterize the contemporary global political economy. It is posited in this paper that the remedy for Africa lies in the ability of her states to transcend their disempowering territorial-cum-nationalistic divides and capitalize on the existing continental multilateral mechanisms towards mainstreaming collective sovereignty, based on the principle of pan-African supranationalism. To that end, leveraging and maximizing the gains and prospects of extant regional and continental supranational organisms would become both salient and expedient.

OS TRINTA ANOS DO MERCOSUL: APONTAMENTOS PARA UM BALANÇO

Over its thirty-year existence, Mercosur has experienced several changes, which refer to the models of open regionalism and multidimensional regionalism. Based on this argument, we seek to present, in this work, some interpretative notes, in a historical and institutional perspective, in order to provide subsidies for a balance of the bloc, in its three decades of operation. Focusing on the internal institutional dynamics of Mercosul and using bibliographic and documentary research, this paper discusses the integration models adopted and the main measures associated with the respective models along the bloc’s trajectory. Its conclusion points out to the current trend of resuming open regionalism in the midst of Mercosur´s precarious condition.

REVISITING THE US-CHINA TRADE WAR: A STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT

The relations among United States of America and People’s Republic of China have historically survived several bouts and rounds however the approach employed by the Trump Administration for a program involving reprisal hefty tariff-trade war against China has given a new face to the bilateral relations between the two states. The paper demonstrates that domestic and international agents played a vital role in initiating and nurturing the trade clash between Washington and Beijing since 2018 to date. The aim of the study is to ascertain that how the political climate and past pursuits of one country conditions policy outcomes in another, and how domestic political pressures on politician’s conditions their relations with foreign counterparts. The paradigm of rational choice theory is adopted to provide a conceptual understanding to the triggering of the trade war between the economic giants.

THE IMPORTANCE OF MIDDLE EAST IN RUSSIAN FOREIGN POLICY

The Soviet Union emerged as a superpower in the Cold War, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, a new Russia was formed. To achieve the hegemony of power, Russia's security document was given priority. In the first term, Vladimir Putin focused on pragmatism and emphasized the power of domestic politics and the revival of the Russian economy. In his second term, Putin focused on the politics of realism to gain power on the international stage and return to what Moscow is interested in. In his second term, Putin pursued a political (power expansion), security (avoiding differences), and economic (strengthening Russia) view Middle East. Therefore, in this study, Russian foreign policy in the Middle East and its importance The question for this study is: what factors in Russian foreign policy made the Middle East region important for Russia? And the hypothesis for this question: Russia's concern about Islamic fundamentalism (security), economic and political reasons are among the most important factors in directing its foreign policy to the Middle East.

ESTRATÉGIA NORTE-AMERICANA PARA O DESENVOLVIMENTO DE INTELIGÊNCIA ARTIFICIAL MILITAR: UM HORIZONTE DE CURTO PRAZO (2020-2030)

This article analyses the US Department of Defense initiative formalized in the Summary of the 2018 Department of Defense Artificial Intelligence Strategy. The conclusion is that the US emphasis on the use of artificial intelligence to expand C4ISR capabilities (command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance) and the denunciation of “ethical risks’’ involving Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS) are narrative strategies aimed at dealing in the short term with the inability of the US technology agencies to master autonomous military platform technologies and with the Russian resolve on the development of these lethal autonomous military platforms.

THE REFORM OF THE BRAZILIAN ANTI-DUMPING REGIME: A PARTIAL REVIEW OF THE DETERMINANTS AND THE IMPLICATIONS OF DECREE 8,058/2013

This study considers the development and reform of the anti-dumping regime in Brazil as a ratification example of the multilateral trading system proposed by the World Trade Organization (WTO). Brazil's history of leadership in the WTO Rounds, as well as its emergence among users of temporary barriers illustrates the fact that developing countries participate, with some success, in the endorsement and strengthening of the multilateral system itself. Using the WTO Anti-Dumping Agreement (ADA) as a model for its own regulatory framework, this practice ensures that domestic legislation will have greater compliance to international obligations and avoid constraints via the Dispute Settlement Body. Finally, the case of Decree 8,058/2013 highlighted the importance that specialized agents in the middle management of the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade (MDIC) have in the management and improvement of the Brazilian public policy.

DEFESA NACIONAL E DESENVOLVIMENTO: DIÁLOGOS ENTRE O SIGNIFICADO DE “AUTONOMIA” EM HÉLIO JAGUARIBE E A ESTRATÉGIA NACIONAL DE DEFESA

In his studies on development, international relations and national defense issues, political scientist Hélio Jaguaribe reflected on Brazil’s “autonomy” since the country is inserted in the interstate capitalist system. First approved in 2008, the National Defense Strategy was created with the aim of promoting a modernization of the Brazilian defense structure. This article proposes to understand the meanings of “autonomy” in the strategic thinking of Jaguaribe. In addition, it presents a potential dialogue between his formulations and the guidelines of the National Defense Strategy in its different versions.

ANÁLISE ESTRATÉGICA NERNT

In 2021, the covid-19 pandemic continues to dominate the international scene, but that does not mean that the political cleavages and tensions lost their space. In this edition, relevant themes are analyzed, such as the reasons for the recent clashes that affect national stability in Angola, a promising African state. Next, two articles address the issue of the Russian opponent Navalny and the situation in eastern Ukraine, showing little-known dimensions about these two themes. As for the set of problems that concern the containment of China by the United States and the United Kingdom, the subject that was selected was that of the demonstrations in Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020, which brings an original and thought-provoking analysis. Vaccine diplomacy also emerged as a new topic, with political-strategic and economic dimensions that go beyond the global health crisis, and was objectively assessed here. Another event that surprised many analysts was the military coup in Myanmar, which has both an internal and an external dimension and is addressed here from a critical perspective. Then, an overview of the first 100 days of the Biden administration in the diplomatic and security fields is offered, confirming the predictions expressed in the previous edition that the foreign policy changes would rely on form, and not so much on content. Finally, the return of leftist candidates to power in Latin America is analyzed, exploring the fluidity and uncertainty of the regional political framework. The analysis of the conjuncture, more than just explaining specific events, can contribute to the understanding of ongoing processes and the structure that is taking shape. In this sense, the covid-19 pandemic, regardless of its origin (will we ever know for sure?), has been addressed, as it appears, in an ineffectual way even by prosperous and organized countries. Thus, a strategic reflection shows that the health crisis may be serving as a cover for another one, which was already manifesting itself in previous years: the economic slowdown. All social difficulties would now be presented as a result of the pandemic, as well as the political morass within the states of the system, and conflicts between them would be justified or camouflaged. So, here is a question for reflection: is the ongoing situation being used, to a large extent, as an opportune instrument for managing the economic crisis and the technological and geopolitical dispute currently underway?