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The article makes preliminary suggestions to answer the following questions: "How is the global power distributed in contemporary international relations?" and "How does this distribution affect the options of the Brazilian external policies?" From the bipolarity of the Cold War to the fragmentation of the present-day agenda the topic of power sharing, a classic theme in international studies, is being discussed, and the positions Brazil could take in a context of multipolarity are outlined. (Polit Externa/DÜI)

This article traces the ways in which political, economic, domestic, and international factors converged to provoke a massive financial crisis in Mexico in 1994/5, as well as its consequences for future reform efforts. The author argues that the ruling PRI party and international investors were equally adamant in defending the anchored exchange rate. However, in attempting to appease both domestic and foreign interests, the Salinas administration lost control of the macroeconomic fundamentals. While the combination of a massive multilateral loan and the shift to a floating exchange rate paved the way for Mexico's rapid economic recovery, a main legacy of the crisis was the political demise of the PRI. (Rev Econ Pol/DÜI)

Having just completed its second consecutive "lost decade", the Venezuelan case confirms that there are no short cuts to sound political economic management in the era of high capital mobility and securitized capital flows. The maintenance of a muddling-through exchange rate strategy has triumphed, at least for the time being, and enabled an elite executive-level coalition to prevail in pursuing a less than optimal macroeconomic policy. The author argues that Venezuela has avoided a full-blown Mexican or Brazilian-style devaluation by virtue of the Central Bank's ability to effectively manage the exchange rate. (Rev Econ Pol/DÜI)

O estudo dos sistemas de ensino superior em distintos paises da America indica, de inicio, a inexistencia de uniformidades na sua evolucao e nas politicas adotadas em periodos diversos. Mas e possivel detectar caracteristicas comuns, cujo estudo comparado pode subsidiar as alternativas para as propostas de reforma. Analisam-se aqui as politicas recentes para o ensino superior no subcontinente a partir dos processos no Brasil, Chile, Argentina, Mexico e Colombia. Procura-se recuperar a tradicao de cada um dos sistemas para entao analisar os problemas atuais, a emergencia e os entraves da modernizacao. A autora conclui que as reformas sao inevitaveis e que ha um conjunto semelhante de problemas e alternativas nestes paises. (Novos Estud CEBRAP/DÜI)

A viagem efetuada por Jacques Chirac aos paises do Mercosul em marco de 1997 foi considerada como o simbolo do retorno da Franca a um continente abandonado por ela durante muitos anos. O objetivo primeiro dessa viagem historica consistiu em reatar um dialogo com uma America Latina que reencontrou a via do crescimento economico, favorecendo assim a fixacao da democracia. A proposta de uma reuniao de cupula euro-latinoamericana, em 1998, e igualmente importante e comporta uma dimensao historica. Em resumo, a mensagem da Franca entregue a America Latina e um apelo a tomada de responsabilidades, com vistas e edificar um mundo multipolar, em constante expansao economica, em beneficio da democracia. (Polit Externa/DÜI)

Discusses participation in international relations by the Roman Catholic Church in Portugal today; includes historical background. Summaries in English and French p. 251 and 253.

This article discusses the influence of external pressure on the Brazilian trade liberalization process. The conditions under which external pressure is defined are based on the approach of international politics authors known as "realists" and related to the interests of the states, reliance on specific pressure instruments and vulnerability to pressure. Events such as the decline of American hegemony, the rise of newly industrialized countries, the globalization of the international economy and the debt crisis, which led to an increase in international conflict during the 1980s are analysed, as well as domestic factors like the economic vulnerability of Brazil. (Rev Econ Polit/DÜI)

The changes brought about by globalization permit that a certain group of countries have better conditions for ascension within the international system. Three of these changes are fundamental: Political power tends to be predominantly linked to economical power, the state-nation is no longer the only player in the global field and, in the post-Cold War era, the international scenario is multipolar. Under such conditions a certain group of countries, called emerging countries, can grow in terms of economy but not in terms of power. This gives rise to the question of how Brazil can increase its sphere of political influence on the international scene. (Polit Externa/DÜI)