Realpolitik and the use of military instruments in the life and work of Barão do Rio Branco

Abstract

This review of the biography “Juca Paranhos, barão do Rio Branco” by Luís Cláudio Villafañe G. Santos (Villafañe, L.C. Juca Paranhos: o Barão do Rio Branco. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2018, 560p) explores the dimension of the use of instruments of power in Rio Branco’s period as Foreign Minister, especially the relation between foreign and defense policies. The text highlights the years of education and the political actions of Rio Branco, which present a shrewd operation of the realpolitik, with a “saquarema” basis, capable of using the tools of powers at his disposal, including military power, according to the moment and chances of success in each issue.