The relationship between racial capitalism and the Atlantic: the role of the Brazilian Northeast in the Modern International System

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30612/mones.v14i27.18890

Keywords:

Racial capitalism, Modern international system, Atlantic

Abstract

This article aims to problematize the role of the Brazilian Northeast in the modern international system, against the backdrop of the relationship between racial capitalism and the Atlantic in the expansion of the commercialization of blacks and sugar. To this end, the conceptual framework of racial capitalism is used to analyze this agro-export economy as an economic system operated by Europe in the Brazilian Northeast region, specifically in Pernambuco and Salvador. In this sense, the argument is that the role of the Northeast in the modern international system was that of a commercial center for the economic support of the countries of England, France, and Portugal. In order to develop its argument, the article is structured in two sections. The first section addresses the racial dimension in the debate on racial capitalism and its relationship with the Atlantic in the expansion of modern logic. The second section points out the role of blacks as an industrial technology for the production of sugar in Pernambuco and Salvador, and its import and export. The problematizations present in this article contribute to the debate on the centrality of the Brazilian Northeast in international politics, understanding that international politics is structured by the West, making it necessary to dialogue in these dimensions for new non-hierarchical epistemics.

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Author Biographies

Erica Paula Vasconcelos, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro

Northeastern, graduated in the Interdisciplinary Bachelor's Degree in Humanities (BIH) and International Relations (IR) from the University of International Integration of Afro-Brazilian Lusofonia (UNILAB). Specialist in Contemporary International Relations and Master in International Relations from the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA). Currently a PhD student in International Relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RIO). Member of the Peace Studies Center (NEP) and the INCLUIR Extension Project, member of the Youth Committee of the Latin American Association of Political Science (ALACIP JOVEM), of the Research Forum of the Brazilian Association of International Relations (ABRI), of the Collective of Black Researchers in International Relations and the Network of Studies and Research in International Political Sociology (IPS BRASIL) at PUC-Rio. She has been a student representative on the University Council (CONSUN), the Higher Education Commission (COSUEN), the Higher Research Commission (COSUP) at Unila and General Coordinator of the Postgraduate Association APG ARANDU UNILA. I participated in the Planning Committee for Educational Actions and awareness-raising campaigns for the university community focused on gender issues, gender-based violence, violence against women and a former scholarship holder of the UNILAB Interinstitutional Project in the construction of understanding of National Identity: training for initial grades of elementary school. I am interested in the following lines of research: critical analysis of IR; decolonial thinking; race and racism; international sociology; political economy; slavery; Atlantic geopolitics; racial capitalism and racial issues in Northeast Brazil

Ramon Blanco, Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA)

Adjunct Professor in the International Relations and Integration course at the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA) and Permanent Professor in the Postgraduate Program in Political Science at the Federal University of Paraná (PPGCP-UFPR). CNPq Research Productivity Fellow - PQ2, is Adjunct Professor in the International Relations and Integration course at the Federal University of Latin American Integration (UNILA), where he coordinates the Peace Studies Center (NEP) and the Chair of Studies for Peace (CEPAZ). At UNILA, he teaches in the Specialization in International Relations for Basic Education Teachers at UNILA-UAB (CAPES), and is a full member of the Council of the Latin American Institute of Economy, Society and Politics (ILAESP), of the Higher Research Commission (COSUP ), the Higher Education Commission (COSUEN) and the University Council (CONSUN) of the University. He is also a Permanent Professor in the Postgraduate Program in Political Science at the Federal University of Paraná (PPGCP-UFPR) and Visiting Professor at the Universidad del Salvador (Argentina). He is currently Co-Secretary General (with Diana Marcela Agudelo-Ortiz) of the Consejo Latinoamericano de Investigación para la Paz (CLAIP) and representative of Latin America on the Board of the International Peace Research Association (IPRA). His research interests focus mainly on areas such as: Peace Studies, Post-War Reconstruction Processes, International Relations Theories, Critical International Security Studies, and Race and Racism in International Relations.

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Published

2025-10-15

How to Cite

Vasconcelos, E. P., & Blanco, R. (2025). The relationship between racial capitalism and the Atlantic: the role of the Brazilian Northeast in the Modern International System. Monções: UFGD Journal of International Relations, 14(27), 377–398. https://doi.org/10.30612/mones.v14i27.18890

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 27 (2025): Regional integration processes and the challenges of the 21st century: sustainable development, human rights, and borders

Section

Articles - Miscellaneous Section

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