Felipe Estre is a PhD student on the joint PhD programme between the University of Sao Paulo and King's College London. He currently researches Brazilian Diplomacy, specifically the narratives and representations formulated by diplomats.

He holds an MSc in International Relations from Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro and a BA in International Relations from the University of Sao Paulo. His MSc research focused on International Relations Theory with a thesis called entitled 'Power, Interdependence and Inequality.'

Research

Thesis title- 'Diplomats as Intellectuals: Representations and Narratives of Brazilian Foreign Policy'

The goal of this project is to identify representations and historical narratives about the Brazilian foreign policy formulated by diplomats who stand out for their intellectual production. Scholars have been employing these representations and narratives recurrently, sometimes taking them as a given, without considering the political implications of their use.

In order to identify the diplomats with the greatest impact on Brazilian International Relations, this project takes as a point of departure the authors with the largest number of publications in the journal Política Externa – which was founded in 1992 and has been one of the main platforms for such texts.

The publications of these selected diplomats, both in Política Externa and in other vehicles and formats (articles, chapters, books, speeches), will be examined through discourse analysis, particularly by using two of its procedures: predicate analysis and metaphorical analysis, whether in past periods or in contemporary contexts.

In view of the large volume of information, the software Atlas.ti, specialised in the systematisation and codification of qualitative data, will be employed. The systematic analysis of representations and historical narratives produced by Brazilian diplomats may contribute to highlight new perspectives, questions and research lines on Brazil’s foreign policy and diplomacy.

PhD supervision

• Principal supervisor:  Anthony Pereira
• Secondary supervisor:  Mervyn Frost

Further details

See Felipe's research profile