The objective of this article is to analyze the changes brought about by the foreign policy of Lula da Silva's first government (2003-2006). To discuss the topic, we will make use of Hermann's (1990) article on foreign policy change and the motivation behind it, integrating it with constructivist insights useful to examine the roles of the ideas in the formulation of the Brazilian foreign policy after 2003. To compliment our analysis, we will make use of three notions: autonomy through distance, autonomy through participation, and autonomy through diversification. These notions explain the main changes occurring in Brazilian foreign policy from 1980 through to the mid-2000s. We will conclude by demonstrating how the autonomy through diversification best applies to the aforementioned period, acknowledging that the first two levels of Hermann's theory, adjustment change and program change, did in fact happen. We suggest that the third level, problem/goal changes, can come into effect with the consolidation and amplification of the first two levels.
Lula da Silva; Foreign Policy; Autonomy; Constructivism; Political Changes
