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A South American NATO? Brazil and the chances for a South American Defence Council

10/04/2008 By Susanne Gratius

Sixty years after the creation of the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (TIAR), in 1948 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has proposed the establishment of a South American Defence Council. President Lula launched his proposal at an appropiate moment: on 4 March 2008, during the diplomatic crisis between Colombia and Ecuador.

The principal obstacles facing the future South American Defence Council are its instrumentalisation by Brazil for national purposes and the different security perceptions of Brazil and Venezuela. The coming months will prove if it is possible to reconcile both positions.

A South American Defence Council could be a first step towards consolidating the region as a peace zone and increasing its international weight. Its creation would also reinforce the incipient South American system while weakening the Interamerican system.

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Keywords

Brazil Conflict Conflict prevention Conflict resolution Latin America & Caribbean Peace Regional powers Security Venezuela

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Bio author: Susanne Gratius

Susanne Gratius holds a PhD in Political Science from the University of Hamburg. Prior to joining FRIDE, she worked as a Researcher at the Department of the Americas at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP) in Berlin and at the Iberoamerican Studies Institute (IIK) in Hamburg. Until 1999, she was Coordinator at the European-Latin American Relations Institute (IRELA) in Madrid.