COMUNIDADE DOS PAÍSES DE LÍNGUA PORTUGUESA COMO ESPAÇO DE SEGURANÇA: O EIXO BRASIL–PORTUGAL E A AGENDA DE DEFESA COMUM

Abstract

This article examines how the Brazil–Portugal axis contributes to shaping the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) as a security space and to structuring a common defence agenda among its member states. It departs from the question of to what extent, and with which limits, this axis is able to translate the rhetoric of a “lusophone security community” into concrete and sustained practices of defence cooperation. The analysis is organised into four steps. First, it reconstructs the evolution of the CPLP’s security and defence architecture, highlighting the consolidation of specific norms, organs and instruments, such as the Defence Protocol, the Centre for Strategic Analysis and the “Identity of the CPLP in the Field of Defence”. Second, it assesses how Brazil and Portugal inscribe the CPLP and the lusophone axis into their defence and maritime strategies, with particular emphasis on the Atlantic. Third, it maps key instruments of cooperation in defence, including the FELINO exercise series, joint training and education initiatives and the production of strategic thinking. Finally, it discusses the main constraints and opportunities for deepening a common defence agenda, in light of capability asymmetries, competing external priorities and institutional weaknesses. The article concludes that the Brazil–Portugal axis is a necessary, but not sufficient, condition for consolidating the CPLP as a meaningful security space, and points to concrete avenues for strengthening its maritime and strategic dimension.