Brazilian Cooperation causal mechanisms in Africa (2003-2010).

The purpose of this paper is to address the Brazilian cooperation causal mechanisms in Africa between 2003 and 2010. Process-tracing methods are tools for studying causal mechanisms in a single-case research design, such as this period in Brazilian cooperation in Africa, given the historical oscillations of Brazilian policy toward this continent. The first part of the article will present the methodological aspects of the research through an analysis of theory-building process-tracing. A literature review is presented from which emerges the main empirical explanations of the process of establishing cooperation projects, in order to identify the different mechanisms pointed out by the literature. In the second part, the analysis of the causal mechanisms that would in uence the process through the dialogue between theory and data is reported. According to the data found so far, it can be observed that the institutionalization of multilateral agencies with strategic states for Brazil, such as the CPLP, and their use by Presidential Diplomacy constitute the causal mechanisms between the independent and dependent variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]