Quantum technologies as strategic assets: power disputes and Brazil’s defense

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5902/2357797597841

Keywords:

Quantum technologies, National defense, Geopolitics, International security, Technological sovereignty

Abstract

Quantum technologies have established themselves as a strategic differentiator in the new international order, driving a race for supremacy among the United States, China, and the European Union. This study analyzes the influence of the international race for quantum technologies on the formulation of Brazilian defense strategy from 2019 to 2024, using the process tracing method to identify causal chains between the evolution of global investments and their implications for Brazil’s national security and technological sovereignty. Drawing on verified governmental documents, institutional reports and indexed scientific literature, five main causal mechanisms are identified: strategic signaling effect, technological demonstrations as catalysts, technological dependency cascade, institutional fragmentation, and vicious cycle of marginalization. Brazil’s National Defense Policy (Decree No. 12,725/2025) explicitly recognizes quantum computing as a disruptive technology that deepens asymmetries in defense, yet without an operational strategy equivalent to the U.S. NSM-10 or the NATO Quantum Strategy. It is concluded that strengthening quantum capabilities is a strategic imperative to guarantee technological autonomy and prepare defense structures for the challenges of the new global technological competition.

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Author Biographies

Thays Felipe David de Oliveira, Universidade Federal do Amazonas

Mestre em Antropologia pela Universidade Federal da Paraíba; Especialista em Ciência Política e Graduada em Relações Internacionais pela Universidade Estadual da Paraíba; Doutora em Ciência Política pela Universidade Federal de Pernambuco; Pós-doutora em Engenharia Nuclear pelo Instituto Militar de Engenharia; Professora, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, AM, Brasil.

Carlos Eduardo Franco Azevedo, Escola de Comando e Estado-Maior do Exército

Graduação em Administração pela Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras; Mestrado em Operações Militares pela Escola de Aperfeiçoamento de Oficiais; Mestrado em Ciências Militares pela Escola de Comando e Estado Maior do Exército; Assessor de Planejamento Estratégico e Inovação da Escola de Comando e Estado-Maior do Exército; Doutor em Administração pela Fundação Getúlio Vargas; Professor, Escola de Comando e Estado-Maior do Exército, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.

Fernando Araújo-Moreira, Military Institute of Engineering

Engenheiro de Materiais; Mestre e Doutor em Física; Professor Visitante e Cientista Pesquisador na Universidade de Maryland/EUA; Coordenador de Pesquisa SE7/Engenharia Nuclear; Professor, Instituto Militar de Engenharia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.

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Published

2026-10-02

Issue

Vol. 17 No. 3 (2026): Publicação Contínua - Dossiê "Desafios Tecnológicos para a Construção da Defesa e Segurança no Sul Global"

Section

Artigos Dossiê

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