In a restless, multipolar world order, South America’s great powers — Brazil, Argentina, Colombia — are claiming a stronger voice and more agency in global politics. Their strategic position and their political alliances mean that international arrangements need to be readjusted or entirely rethought.

Their stance on issues as diverse as the Russo-Ukrainian War and global trade issues are less and less aligned to the interests of the USA or the EU and more open towards China, India, and Russia, while the size of their economies, internal and external migration, as well as organized crime, armed conflicts and political instability make them a volatile and increasingly crucial factor of the international order. How will South America’s influence evolve, and which interests will South American countries prioritize as the international order is creaking under the strains of multiple crises?

About the guest Oliver Stuenkel:

Oliver Stuenkel is a Professor at the School of International Relations at Fundação Getulio Vargas (FGV) in São Paulo. He is also a non-resident scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington DC and a columnist for Estado de São Paulo and Americas Quarterly. His research focuses on geopolitics and global order, Brazilian foreign policy, Latin American politics and emerging powers. He is the author of several books about geopolitics, including The BRICS and the Future of Global Order (Lexington) and the Post-Western World: How Emerging Powers Are Remaking Global Order (Polity).

About the host Philipp Blom:

Philipp Blom was born in Hamburg in 1970. After living and working in Oxford, London, and Paris, he is now based in Vienna. His historical works, essays, and novels have been translated into 16 languages and have received numerous awards, including a scholarship at the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles and the German Non-Fiction Book Prize. Blom is also a prolific radio journalist and public speaker.

Among his most recent German and English publications are: Diebe des Lichts, Karl Blessing 2021; Das große Welttheater, Zsolnay 2019; Eine italienische Reise, Hanser 2018; Was auf dem Spiel steht, Hanser 2017; Die Welt aus den Angeln, Hanser 2017 / Nature’s Mutiny; Bei Sturm am Meer, Zsolnay 2016; Die zerrissenen Jahre. 1918–1938, Hanser 2014; Böse Philosophen. Ein Salon in Paris und das vergessene Erbe der Aufklärung, Hanser 2011 / A Wicked Company; Der taumelnde Kontinent. Europa 1900–1914, Hanser 2009 / The Vertigo Years - Change and Culture in the West, 1900-1914