A/Prof. Deborah Barros Leal Farias1, Dr Rodrigo Fracalossi de Moraes
1UNSW – School Of Social Sciences, Sydney, Australia, 2Southampton University, Southampton, UK
Biography:
Deborah Barros Leal Farias is a Brazilian-born A/Prof at UNSW Sydney's School of Social Sciences. Her current main areas of interest involve global governance and the international political economy of developing countries. She has a multidisciplinary background, including a PhD in Political Science from UBC (Canada), and degrees in Economy and in Law from Brazilian institutions.
Abstract:
This paper examines OECD expansion through Brazil’s bid for membership, a case that challenges the organization’s image as a "Club of the Rich". Since the mid-2000s, the OECD has sought to integrate members beyond its traditional profile of advanced democracies. Using Brazil as a case study, we address three questions: Why is the OECD expanding? Why does Brazil seek membership? What does this reveal about global divisions between developed/developing and North/South?
Our findings indicate three key points. First, the OECD’s expansion is driven by symbolic goals, aiming to bolster its global legitimacy by integrating diverse members and dispelling perceptions of exclusivity. Second, Brazil’s bid combines material and symbolic interests. Non-traditional foreign policy actors, such as the Brazil’s Ministry of Finance and anticorruption agency, leverage OECD membership to influence domestic reforms, while politicians use it to construct an image of modernity. Third, Brazil’s case reveals how international organizations are resignified in domestic politics and how diffusion of power from the West influences’ international organizations’ strategies and identities. Our analysis draws on secondary sources, official documents, and interviews with Brazilian diplomats and policymakers, showing how domestic material and symbolic concerns interplay with broad shifts in the international order.