The paper discusses the international facet of the Brazilian policy on HIV/AIDS and its connection to other areas of foreign relations, such as intellectual property rights and human rights. In so doing, it takes into account Joseph Nye Jr. concepts of soft and hard power. The latter reflects the capacity of making others follow one's position, albeit against their will. The former consists in the capacity of freely attracting others to one's position. The author analyses the importance of the media, the nongovernmental organizations, the public opinion, and the international institutions in foreign affairs. Not only do they possess soft power of their own, but also play a key role in reinforcing a country's soft power. The author assesses the influence of soft power on the relations between Brazil and the United States, as well as on multilateral fora, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. The essay also analyses the role of hard power in international relations and evaluates why a country cannot dispense with it. Although soft power has indeed become increasingly important over the last years, the combination of the two kinds of power remains the right policy to pursue. The Brazilian foreign policy on HIV/AIDS is a case in point.
HIV/AIDS; Intellectual Property Rights; Power; UN