<p>Brazil stands at a crossroads in its road to major power status. It can either continue its ascent, or can remain a middle power, albeit a critical one, within the existing international status quo. A major power is characterised by more than size, population, and economic achievement. It is distinguished by its intentions regarding its role in the international system. To assess a rising power, we have to examine the degree to which a state is able to successfully participate in shaping the rules and forming the regimes that govern the international order.<br /><br />Brazil has sought major power status to facilitate its own economic development and to maximize its autonomy in the international system. It has historically valued the norms of sovereignty, non-intervention, and peaceful resolution of disputes in international relations. So while Brazil would like to be a rule shaper rather than a rule taker in the international system, the rules it would find acceptable tread lightly on the sovereignty of states.</p><p>This paper argues that Brazil’s aspirations to major power status have been a constant, but that its attempts to rise have fallen short historically due to the mismatch between its capabilities and the available opportunities to emerge as a great power. In particular, Brazil has been attempting to solve a difficult puzzle: how to emerge as a major power without resorting to the traditional use of hard military and economic power to compel others to accept its rise.</p><p>In comparison to other rising powers such as India and China, Brazil’s recent regional security environment is enviably peaceful, at least at the interstate level. This has diminished Brazil’s interest in developing the kinds of military capabilities characteristic of other rising powers. Its history as a developing country has limited its willingness to accept the costs of using economic power through sanctions or aid to induce other states to change their behavior. Additionally, there is a normative dimension in Brazilian foreign policy that resists the employment of hard power in international affairs.</p>