Abstract We argue that emerging powers’ reluctance to conform to new norms at the global level is grounded not in rejection of norms’ content, but in contestation of norms’ implementation, and of the hierarchical manner in which responsibility is defined and attributed. The assessment of Brazil and India’s approach to the issue of intervention supports our argument.

Abstract Over the past five years, the South Atlantic region has become a central element of Brazilian security policy, with Brazil actively supporting the notion of a trans-oceanic security consciousness involving African littoral states. It has invested in diplomatic initiatives such as the Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic (ZPCSA, or ZOPACAS), and extensive military co-operation with West African states such as São Tomé e Príncipe, Namibia and Cape Verde. Its internal security and defence policy documents have repeatedly been updated to reflect this dimension, and now provide the foundation for advancing these initiatives. This policy thrust is directed at securing Brazil’s offshore oil assets, and limiting the influence of what it has termed ‘extra-regional powers’ such as the P-5. This article highlights these initiatives and reviews the prospects for this policy by examining the plausibility of the South Atlantic region as a regional security complex in the sense coined by Buzan and Wæver. The analysis is based on the role of geographical and linguistic proximity in international relations, and the impact of multilateral bodies on building support for a regional approach to security governance.

The rise of new powers and attendant shifts in the global balance of power have led to calls for UN Security Council reform. Established powers have often responded by linking increased influence in the international system with the assumption of more international responsibility by aspirant powers. Based on ethical and philosophical approaches from the individual and state levels, and a case study of Brazil, this article analyses the way in which the notion of responsibility is discursively constructed, demonstrating the manner in which it has been used as an ever-shifting goalpost to deny emerging powers participation at the highest levels of global strategic decision-making. Most often, this is done by equating “responsibility” with the ability and willingness to use robust military force.

Resumo O presente artigo utiliza o quadro proposto pela Escola de Copenhagen para compreender a securitização do ciberespaço, explorando como algo nessa esfera se torna ameaça. Buscando-se contribuir no debate, analisa-se os discursos de securitização de Brasil e de Estados Unidos a partir da teorização de Hansen e Nissenbaum (2009) sobre a existência de um setor específico à segurança cibernética. Compreender a securitização do ciberespaço nesses termos, além de permitir identificar graus distintos de securitização, também permite capturar as dinâmicas das ameaças cibernéticas, distinguindo-as daquelas existentes em outros setores, bem como traçar distinções entre tendências de securitização e militarização.

Abstract This paper uses the framework of the Copenhagen School to understand the process of securitization of cyberspace, exploring how something in such sphere becomes a threat. Seeking to contribute to the debate, this study analyses the securitization discourses of Brazil and of the United States from Hansen and Nissenbaum's (2009) theorization about the existence of a specific sector for cybersecurity. To comprehend the securitization of cyberspace in these terms allows not only to identify distinct levels of securitization, but also to capture the dynamics of cyber threats, distinguishing them from those existent in other sectors, as well as to trace distinctions between tendencies of securitization and militarization.

Resumo O presente artigo investiga o papel da tecnologia na modernidade a partir do fenômeno da ciberguerra. Argumenta-se que o processo de modernização tem por característica a conjunção entre guerra, ciência e tecnologia e que a incorporação da cibernética à guerra é representativa disso. Para tanto, procede-se a uma genealogia da ciberguerra, o que permite investigar as significações constitutivas do atual discurso, bem como analisar suas condições de possibilidade. Esse primeiro movimento permite situar a cibernética enquanto alicerce no desenvolvimento das práticas de guerra e como tropo capaz de influenciar o imaginário militar a seu respeito. Finalmente, o fenômeno é situado no contexto mais amplo das transformações da guerra na modernidade, apontadas por Bousquet (2009) e as quais destacam o papel central da tecnologia no guerrear moderno. Isso permite problematizar a forma como a ciberguerra se articula ao imaginário de não violência presente nas teorias da modernização.

Abstract This article investigates the role of technology in modernity based on the phenomenon of cyberwar. We argue that the conjunction of war, science and technology is a defining characteristic of the modernization process and that the incorporation of cybernetics into warfare is representative of this. In doing so, we establish a genealogy of cyberwar, which allows the study to investigate constitutive signifiers within current discourses, as well as analyzing its permissive conditions. This first step situates cybernetics as fundamental to the development of practices of warfare and as a trope capable of influencing the military imaginary. Finally, the phenomenon is situated in the broader context of the changes in warfare in modernity, highlighted by Bousquet (2009), which underscore the central role of technology in modern warfare. This allows for the problematization of the way in which cyberwar relates to the discourse on non-violence that permeates theories of modernization.

Este artigo integra a prática internacional com a literatura analítica em uma apresentação sistemática e sintética da evolução das operações de paz desde sua concepção em 1948 até o presente. Possui finalidade didática, propondo uma estrutura básica para o florescente debate acadêmico no Brasil sobre as operações de paz e a intervenção, em vez de procurar estabelecer uma caracterização definitiva da prática dos capacetes azuis. A evolução das operações de paz é rastreada por meio de cinco "gerações" analíticas, cada uma acrescentando um fator crucial permitindo sua diferenciação de suas antecessoras. Cada geração é colocada em relação com mudanças na natureza do conflito e na interpretação dos princípios fundamentais das operações de paz. A cada passo, explicitam-se as amplas ligações com os temas teóricos centrais das Relações Internacionais.

This article combines both international practice and analytical contributions into a systematic and synthetic presentation of the evolution of peace operations from their modern inception in 1948 to the present. It seeks to serve a didactic purpose in proposing a basic structure for Brazilian scholars' burgeoning debate on peace operations and intervention, rather than a definitive characterization of blue helmet practice. Peace operations' progression is traced through five analytical "generations," each adding a crucial factor distinguishing it from its predecessors. Each generation is placed in relation to changes in the nature of conflict and in the interpretation of the foundational principles of peace operations, and links to broader theoretical issues in International Relations are made explicit at each stage.