Os princípios da Cooperação Sul-Sul: o caso do Projeto Cotton-4

Abstract

The South-South Cooperation, in addition to helping developing countries to through improvements socio-economic improvements, is also seen as a strategic tool to leverage the country's image internationally. The purpose of this paper is to investigate which principles of South-South Cooperation can be applied to the Cotton-4 Project (2009 to 2013), here considered as the object of the research. For this, the good practices and difficulties that the project faced during its execution were analyzed transversally. Initially, a study was carried out regarding Brazilian foreign policy during the Lula administration, and how this point was fundamental for the consolidation of Cotton-4. Then, in order to expand knowledge about practical examples of cooperation, the structure of Cotton-4 and the specificities of the C-4 countries (Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali) were accurately described. Data and information regarding the project were taken from official documents of the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC) and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), both responsible for the coordination and implementation of Cotton-4, respectively. However, in order to avoid that the research presented an institutional bias, it was necessary to use other academic works on the subject, as well as scholars and researchers in the field of International Relations. At the end, the project information was cross-checked with the principles of South-South Cooperation (Horizontality, Appropriation, Mutual Benefits and Conditionality), based on writings by Dai and Snidal (2010) and Ayllón and Leite (2009) to prove the importance of Cotton-4 as a pilot initiative of the cooperation provided by Brazil in the agricultural sector.