This edited volume was first published in 1981 in the context of the Cold War. Re-issued almost 40 years later in a very different global context, the book addresses a subject—the international relations of Brazil—that has lost none of its interest and significance.

In the foreword, Ronald M. Schneider asks, “Is Brazil now or is it soon to become a major power? What is the degree of correspondence between this continent-sized country's aspirations and its capabilities in the international sphere?” (xiii). Even today, these two questions remain core to any study that analyzes Brazilian foreign policy or the position of Brazil in the international system. The book addresses this question through a range of case studies. In nine chapters, Selcher and his colleagues analyze the position and the influence of Brazil on the international chessboard in the context of the Cold War by looking at its capabilities, its interests and its ambitions.

Nowadays, there is a rich literature on the position of Brazil in the international system, but this was not the case in the 1970s or 1980s. During this period, the study of international relations focussed on the rivalry between the United States and Soviet Union and its consequences for the rest of the world, or on the foreign policy of the industrialized countries like France, Japan and West Germany. This book was one of the pioneers in the study of the foreign policy of Brazil, a middle power that aspired to play a role on the international scene. The book was an important part of the movement by many Southern country specialists to show that the study of international relations was enriched by including countries like Brazil in its field of view.

The book's main strength is its diversity. The different contributions describe the Brazilian position in many domains and with different partners. Issues addressed include the evolution of Brazilian foreign relations in the twentieth century, the economic power of the South American giant in the context of military dictatorship in Brazil and South America, and Brazil's relationship with Latin America and industrialized countries. Indeed, throughout the book there is an emphasis on the multilateral character of Brazil's foreign relations. All the chapters show that even in the context of the Cold War, Brazilian foreign relations were not confined to its relationship with the United States.

Among the most interesting contributions are the last two chapters, which focus on Brazil and the Third World. Anani Dzidzienyo and Michael Turner analyze relationships between Brazil and Africa, while Michael Morris makes an interesting comparison between Brazil and another middle power, India. The subject of Brazil's relations with other Southern countries remains important in the twenty-first century. At the beginning of the 2000s, under the leadership of President Lula da Silva, Brazil placed increased emphasis on its relations with African countries and emerging economies like China and India, although this dynamic has broken down since President Jair Bolsonaro came to power in 2018. Scholars interested in understanding the evolution of Brazilian relations with other Southern countries can use the volume as a baseline for comparing with more recent academic studies. Concerning relations with Africa, for example, the authors emphasize the importance of connections with Portuguese-speaking African countries, an aspect of Brazil's African policy that remained evident decades later under Lula da Silva.

One shortcoming of the book is its limited theoretical framing: all of the chapters use a systemic approach to understanding the position of Brazil in the international system; as a result, they neglect other important levels of analysis, such as the domestic and the individual. There is also little reference to Brazilian or Latin American explanatory frameworks such as dependency theory. The volume thus ignores Latin American and Brazilian perspectives in the analysis of Brazil's position and influence in the world, which is a significant omission given that it was written at a time when Latin American researchers had developed their own distinctive theoretical vision of the international system.

Ultimately, despite these limits, Brazil in the International System: The Rise of a Middle Power remains an important historical contribution to the study of Brazilian international relations and a book whose subjects remain relevant today.