Why Does U.S.—Brazil Defense Cooperation Matter?

Carl Meacham, director of the Americas Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), has published a new article. His piece, "Why Does U.S.—Brazil Defense Cooperation Matter?," appeared December, 2015 as part of the Center’s winter anthology, titled 2016 Global Forecast. The article examines the opportunities and incentives for bilateral military cooperation, noting that “coordination among friends on military matters and beyond” is essential to mitigate transnational security threats and collective challenges such as cyber security, piracy and ISIS. Meacham discusses the current status of U.S.—Brazil military cooperation, including a series of agreements that were proposed and/or ratified between 2010-2014, and explains why increased cooperation is beneficial for Brazil and the U.S. alike. The article concludes, however, that despite the mutual advantages of joint military collaboration, obstacles remain, including discrepancies between the two countries’ military objectives and U.S. reluctance to share defense technology and information with Brazil.

The full article is available here.

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