This thesis focuses on existing middle power theories, which are available in the International Relations literature and their applicability to the so-called emerging powers. Despite the increasing attention being devoted to 'emerging' powers such as Brazil, China, India or South Africa, no suitable theoretical framework for the study of this category of states has been established to date. Rather, it has been customary to apply existing middle power theories, which were advanced in the 1980s and early 1990s to account for the forms of power exercised by countries like Canada and Australia, to the study of emerging powers. Yet, it is the overarching this thesis that, despite some attempts at revising middle power theory to suit the distinction between the 'traditional' middle powers and the 'new' or 'emerging' powers, they have not provided satisfactory explanations for the forms of power that emerging powers exercise in the international political economy. To overcome this problem, a set of hypotheses are developed for the study of emerging powers that are embedded in an analytical framework that originates from the New Political Economy approach. Since the New Political Economy approach offers an understanding of structure and agency as mutually constitutive, and of power to exist in both material and ideational form, it is seen to provide a 'broader' insight into the different forms of power exercised by emerging powers than that granted by existing middle power theories.

This thesis seeks to provide an explanation for the contents of three foreign policy decisions implemented under the government of general Ernesto Geisel (1974-79). It does so by analyzing the decision-making process which led Brazil l) to abstain in the Meetings of Consultation of American Foreign Ministers for voting the lifting of sanctions against Cuba; 2) to restore diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China; and 3) to recognize Angola's MPLA government. The central hypothesis of the thesis is that, although the doctrine of the regime (National Security Doctrine/NSD) has shaped the general conduct of the government, it is not enough to explain the changes in the main lines of foreign policy. It is necessary to analyze the decision making arena where those changes were indeed defined. The first part of the thesis seeks to review the literature on Brazilian foreign policy under the military regime and to present the perspective of analysis. Then the origins and contents of the NSD, in particular its external components, are presented. In addition, it aims to describe the general structure of the decision making arena under Geisel's government, and the main aspects of the foreign policy implemented during this administration. The following three chapters then seek to reconstruct the decision-making process aiming to retrieve from the analysis of the bargains among the bureaucratic role-players, the meaningful elements of the decision contents. The conclusion then claims that it was President Geisel's leadership, along with his Foreign Minister, which was able to oust the "ideological frontiers" precept from the core of the NSD, in spite of its admitted importance during the Cuban case. Furthermore it disputes the premise which states that the existence of a given ultimate consensus among the decision-makers based on the Doctrine is able to explain, on domestic grounds, the foreign policy of "Responsible Pragmatism". It does so by maintaining that the way whereby a new consensus around foreign policy was developed within the decision making arena is, in itself, a crucial element in understanding the decision contents.

Le tourisme international est caractérisé par la mise en relation d’acteurs qui ont des moyens financiers, technologiques et humains très dissemblables. Aussi, compte tenu du pouvoir de levier considérable des acteurs internationaux du tourisme, ceux-ci n’influeront-ils pas les processus décisionnels dans les destinations du Sud ? Notre analyse se concentre sur l’échelle micropolitique de la destination brésilienne de Natal. Les trois hypothèses d’analyse de cette thèse émanent de sa question centrale. La première, c’est que les bases des conflits soient occasionnées en grande partie par les propres acteurs locaux. La deuxième hypothèse est que les acteurs étrangers aient intensifié les conflits déjà existants entre les populations indigènes des territoires occupés par le tourisme. La troisième hypothèse soulève la possibilité que cette influence s’étende parfois au domaine de l’ingérence. L’ethnographie fut choisie à la fois comme une méthode théorique et comme un procédé technique. Un ensemble d’autres méthodes fut également appliqué : les entretiens, l’observation directe, la consultation et l’analyse des documents écrits et l’usage de statistiques et de données chiffrées. Les discussions théoriques alliées à l’analyse des entretiens nous confirment l’incidence des influences internationales sur les processus de prise de décision concernant le tourisme dans la destination brésilienne de Natal. Cette influence est, cependant, très nuancée par le concours et les contre-influences exercées aussi de la part des acteurs étatiques et non étatiques locaux. / International tourism is marked by the relationship of multiple actors with very dissimilar financial, technological and human resources. Also, given the high leverage power of international tourism actors, will they not influence decision-making processes in tourism destinations from the global South? Our analysis focuses on the micro-political level in the Brazilian destination of Natal. The three hypotheses of this thesis come from its central issue. The first one is that local actors themselves might largely cause the bases of conflicts. The second hypothesis is that foreign actors might have intensified the already existing conflicts between indigenous peoples from the territories occupied by tourism. The third hypothesis raises the possibility that this influence extends sometimes to the field of interference. Ethnography was chosen both as a theoretical method and as a technical procedure. A set of other methods was also applied: interviews, direct observation, consultation and analysis of written documents and the use of statistics and figures. Theoretical discussions combined with the analysis of the interviews confirm the impact of international influences on the decision-making processes concerning tourism in Natal, Brazil. This influence is, however, highly counterbalanced by the agency and the counter-influences exerted both from state and non-state actors.