From object to security subject: Brazil-Nigeria cooperation in the South Atlantic

Abstract

This article examines defence cooperation between Brazil and Nigeria through the debate on non-Western International Relations theories and African agency. It starts from a critique of the recurring representation of Africa as a space of crisis and a recipient of security agendas formulated elsewhere. As a primary source, the article uses an institutional interview granted by Nigeria’s Defence Attaché in Brazil, Brigadier General Momanie Okon Edide, to Revista InterAção, intended for publication by the journal itself. The material is examined in dialogue with literature on theoretical diversity, Eurocentrism in security studies, and African external agency. The argument is that Brazil-Nigeria cooperation makes it possible to observe Nigeria as an actor that formulates defence priorities, seeks cooperation in the South Atlantic, and links training, technology, and defence diplomacy to the expansion of its capabilities. This movement repositions Nigeria as a security subject, although its action remains embedded in the state-centred language of sovereignty, defence, and military cooperation.