Rodrigo Lyra is a PhD Candidate at King's College London. He joined the King's Brazil Institute in 2020, as part of the Joint PhD programme between King's College London (KCL) and the University of São Paulo (USP). He holds an MSc in International Relations and a BA in Political Science both from University of Brasilia (Brazil). His Master´s thesis focused on Brazil-Nigeria trade relations. It stressed the importance of Petrobras to Brazil´s international standing and its contribution to Brazil´s bilateral trade relations with this African nation.

Currently, his major research project is on energy politics, particularly the relationship between international oil companies and foreign policy, and is being funded by the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP).

Research

Thesis title: The Decision-Making Process in Brazilian Foreign Policy: The case of Petrobras (1972-2019)

This research analyses the relationship between Brazilian foreign policy and Petrobras’ international operations in all the countries this company has invested so far. It addresses a significant theme within the Brazilian society: the performance abroad of the country’s largest enterprise. In this regard, it is crucial to investigate Petrobras’ decision-making to understand how different actors have led to constraints in the company’s ability to make autonomous investments abroad.

• Principal supervisor: Anthony Pereira

View Anthony's research profile