The production of soft power: practising solidarity in Brazilian South–South development projects

Brazil’s development cooperation and solidarity discourse have been portrayed as soft power resources. However, few studies have analysed how Brazil implements development cooperation, and soft power theory itself suffers from a lack of empirical evidence. This article looks at the perceptions of participants in three Brazilian projects, particularly how soft empowerment is manifested through the demand-driven and horizontality approaches to development cooperation. I contend that these approaches have produced a positive image among the “recipients”, and I show that their perceptions of development cooperation emphasise the style, rather than the completion, of project activities.