Um Estudo da Diplomacia Naval como instrumento de soft power brasileiro: o caso do Navio-Veleiro “Cisne Branco” (2016 - 2022)

Abstract

The ability to mediate, moderate and influence are extremely important variables in a complex and anarchic multipolar scenario where state actors with significant military strength can unbalance the global system through coercive actions. However, the ability to generate positive attraction, through soft power, proves to be a strategic asset in defending a country's foreign policy. Thus, as an object of analysis, this study sought to demonstrate the potential of tall ships, in this case, the training ship “Cisne Branco”, in acting as an instrument of brazilian naval diplomacy, based on three attributes to this manifestation of power: benignity, competence (brilliance) and beauty (charisma). To this end, an exploratory, quantitative-qualitative case study was carried out using, as data collection tools, bibliographical research, semi-structured interviews and, also, a comparison "by most similarity", in this case, analyzing foreign ships that are covered by the same purpose. The results confirmed the assumption that tall ships act as instruments of soft power in the context of naval missions. Specifically in the case of Brazil, the need to build a joint agenda between the Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs is evident in order to convert the opportunities offered by the “Cisne Branco” into effective assets. In this sense, the inferences obtained allowed us to conclude that this tall ship boasts potential, not fully explored, so that, through benignity, competence and charisma, it acts systematically, beyond fortuity, in the dissemination of the Defense Industrial Base and Products of Defense.