Brazil's international relations are characterized by the overwhelming presence of the United States of America, both in terms of specialized bibliography and in the writings of the political actors involved. In this thesis we propose to put this established perspective into question, with the help of archives we found in the libraries of the French Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Defense which had never been studied previously. In the 1950s, 60s and 70s, France sent their best experts in information to Brazil. They came from very different political backgrounds; their mission was to pass on the colonial doctrines of the French Army to the Brazilian officers. They also created new outlets for the recently reformed French industries which had suffered great losses in the War. Within less than twenty years, the French Army has thoroughly reshaped the perception Brazilian officers entertained of their own role. The exported technology was not only of a material nature : it was also a political technology which paved the way for a new military edifice, based on the principle of the anti-subversive war, on the action of the information services and on the leading role given to the industrial groups linked with the armament sector. Thus, France can be said to have greatly contributed to the process leading to the strategic autonomy of the Brazilian Army. And yet, France's imported technologies did not only bring about positive results. On the contrary, as in the wars led by France in the colonies, the anti-subversive war in Brazil has deeply restructured the former Brazilian society.
Conquering minds and trading arms : French military diplomacy in Brazil (1945-1974)