Strategic Forum. Number 284, January 2014. The Defense Acquisition Trilemma: The Case of Brazil

Abstract

Brazil is a puzzling new strategic player. Currently, its economic clout is not supported by strong operational military capabilities. To make its military instrument commensurate with its new geopolitical weight, Brazil is undergoing military modernization. But it faces a security trilemma: it must choose among long-held aspirations of sovereignty, integration into the global value chain, and economic sustainability. Acute tradeoffs are being avoided by leveraging diversification of global partnerships into a wide but shallow defense supply chain integration. With its new global reach, the Brazilian defense industrial base is not a continuation of the defense industry of the 1980s. Instead, complex industrial relationships and civil society engagement create a critical disjuncture from the inward looking pattern of the earlier phase. Strengthening legal frameworks between the United States and Brazil to support defense cooperation would allow private-sector initiatives to deepen bilateral ties.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2014
Accession Number
ADA617135

Entities

People

  • Patrice Franko

Organizations

  • National Defense University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • Cyber
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Aircrafts
  • Commerce
  • Defense Industry
  • Defense Systems
  • Foreign Policy
  • Foreign Relations
  • Geography
  • Governments
  • International Law
  • International Relations
  • Investments
  • Military Acquisition
  • Money
  • National Security
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
  • War Colleges

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Systems Analysis and Design