MINUSTAH: The Application of the Brazilian Smart Power in United Nations Peace Operations

Abstract

Brazil has been attempting, since the beginning of the XXI century, to play a more relevant role in the international scenario. Based on this goal, the country accepted the challenge to be the military leadership in the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH). In the Caribbean country, Brazilian forces had to deal with a Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW), the most common kind of conflict in place since the end of the Cold War. In order to deal with this 4GW, Brazil adopted the smart power strategy, which combines the use of force and diplomatic efforts. Thus, this paper analyses the application of Brazil’s smart power in MINUSTAH as a decisive factor for the resolution of the Haitian conflict. After bibliographic and documental research, it was possible to verify that Brazil’s smart power was a successful strategy in Haiti, effectively dealing with non-state threats, stabilizing the country, and reducing civilian deaths related to the conflict to a very reduced number.

Keywords

• minustah
• brazil’s smart power
• fourth generation warfare