Research Activities
Research Projects 2025
The Global South Countries of Regional Power: Brazil, South Africa
Outline
This research project will focus on Brazil and South Africa, the Global South countries of regional power in Latin America and Africa, which has been the focus of much attention for its restructuring of the balance of power among countries around the world. While these countries make up the BRICS,While these countries comprise the BRICS, they differ from China and Russia, which are authoritarian. The purpose of the study is to provide a historical analysis of how each country has increased its influence in foreign affairs in recent years and to identify the current characteristics of each country.
Brazil, which is the organizer's research subject, for example, has been trying to establish a relationship with the "center" of the world since the beginning of the 20th century, as a "peripheral" country in the capitalist economy, when it became a republic and began to develop as a modern nation. Then, at the beginning of the 21st century, the country developed its institutions in the political, economic, social and other fields and emerged as a leading emerging country as part of the BRICS. Then, although domestic political and economic turmoil and the Corona disaster temporarily stalled diplomacy, the Lula administration, which returned in 2023, proclaimed both domestically and internationally that "Brazil is back" on the world stage. This study will explore what kind of Brazil came back and how.
In this research project, we will focus on two countries of the Global South that are regional powers, and analyze the differences between the period when they increased their position in the world in the past and in recent years. Based on theories of world order and capitalist economic development, etc., as well as previous studies on the history of each country, we will explore the respective characteristics of Brazil and South Africa in the current world order.
Period
April 2025 - March 2026
Members
| Role | Member |
|---|---|
| [ Organizer ] | Konta, Ryohei |
| [ Co-researcher ] | Makino, Kumiko |
*Affiliations are as of April 2025.
Expected Outcome
- Basic theory building project report