A importância da Marinha do Brasil para o fortalecimento do soft power do Estado Brasileiro junto à Organização Marítima Internacional

Abstract

Knowledge is power. Over the years, the pace of transformations based on knowledge intensifies, causing relevant changes that have been affecting several areas, including the shipping, responsible for around 80% of the global trade. As an activity with no borders, which uses ships, port terminals, and crew members from different nationalities, shipping is deeply interdependent, while it needs effective governance to perform a safe, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable operation. These concepts are practiced, in exhaustion, in the International Maritime Organization (IMO), comprised of 174 member States, main actors of the International System, 63 Intergovernmental Organizations, and 80 Non-Governmental Organizations. In a forum in which the continuous pursuing consensus and the adoption of the best technical standards for the maritime sector reign, the member states fully seek to influence agendas. This influence can be achieved based on attraction and persuasion, characteristics of a form of power known as soft power. Marine technological innovations such as the use of unmanned ships and the development of other effective solutions for the propulsion of vessels have been widely discussed at IMO. Such themes, however, should not be restricted to states with a strong predominance in the Science, Technology, and Innovation (STI) sector. Countries like Brazil, with deep dependence on the sea for commercial exchanges that ensure its growth and development, need to be inserted in the context of contributors to the development of STI in shipping. To respond to this purpose, the present work, descriptive and analytical, intends to verify, through bibliographic research, measures that could be adopted by the Brazilian Navy, representative to Brazil at IMO, so that a relevant STI contribution can be delivered to that specialized agency of the United Nations and, consequently, the country increase its soft power. Initiatives aimed at updating national state policies related to the maritime sector; for the promotion of the domestic Triple Helix, with strong Navy incentive; and the contribution of STI assets, provided by the Navy´s Scientific and Technological Institutions, will certainly increase the Brazil projection among the actors that operate at IMO