Starting from Ethology and Classical Élites Theory main assumptions, this paper aimed to strengthen the argument of élites’ perceptions and élites’ capacities as key intervening variables influencing the foreign policy conduct.
The theoretical approach was the neoclassical realist one. In this way, élites’ perceptions and capacities, state relative material potential, and systemic constraints were the variables included into a model that intends to explain how foreign policy, as the dependent variable, is shaped by them.
This kind of approach has not been fully developed until now. This paper brought the true innovation of (i) refining neoclassical realist theory, and (ii) including geopolitical studies into the equation. In doing so, the latter aspect concerned the analysis of how the sense of geographical space (Raumsinn) that élites disclose, and also how élites’ capacities in managing resources, affect foreign policy.
In order to solidify the main argument that élites’ perceptions – while determining the ‘national interest’ – and élites’ capacities filter both state relative material potential and international systemic constraints, an empirical test on Brazilian foreign policy conduct was accomplished.
