Tradição e ruptura na diplomacia nacional: o grau de mudança da política externa no governo Bolsonaro (2019-2022)

Abstract

This study analyzes the changes in Brazilian foreign policy during the administration of Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022), aiming to assess whether this period represented a rupture in relation to the historical trajectory of the country's international conduct. The research is theoretically grounded in the framework developed by Charles Hermann, which classifies foreign policy changes into different levels, ranging from minor adjustments to major shifts in international orientation. Methodologically, this is a qualitative study based on bibliographic and documentary research, combining theoretical discussion with the reconstruction of Brazil’s diplomatic tradition and the empirical analysis of policy guidelines, official speeches, and diplomatic practices during the period. The study also engages with the literature on Brazilian foreign policy, highlighting debates on continuity and change. The findings suggest that, although significant shifts in discourse and some diplomatic practices occurred, there was no complete structural rupture. Instead, the period is better characterized as a reorientation of objectives with elements of discontinuity in relation to Brazil’s historical foreign policy tradition. The study concludes that the foreign policy of the period combined rhetorical rupture with institutional and structural constraints that limited the depth of change.