The United States and Brazil: A Naval Partnership for the Twenty-First Century?

This thesis explores the prospects for a U.S.Brazilian naval partnership for the twenty-first century. It examines the viability of existing multilateral agreements between the United States and Latin American countries for maritime defense of the South Atlantic. It argues that the existing agreements are outdated and ineffective, primarily due to a reduction in cold war threat. With a naval capability ranked among the highest in the third world, and historical naval ties to the United States from both World Wars, the Brazilian navy offers the possibility to assume a greater role in western defense. As a possible means to cultivate this beneficial relationship, a shift in emphasis from the current posture of U.S.Latin American multilateral hemispheric defense, to a focused bilateral U.S.Brazilian naval partnership is suggested. The thesis also suggests that national security threats to the hemisphere have changed to terrorism, narco-trafficking, the spread of high technology weapons, and the rise of ethnic tensions. These threats affect both the United States and Brazil, and could lead to closer cooperation in U.S. Brazilian naval relations.