Over the next two installments, this column will feature an in-depth conversation with Dr. Clarita Costa Maia, a Brazilian legal scholar, international affairs specialist, and senior legislative advisor whose career bridges academia, diplomacy, and public policymaking.

Drawing on more than two decades of experience within the Brazilian Federal Senate, Dr. Maia offers a rare insider’s perspective on the institutions, political culture, and decision-making processes that shape Brazil’s domestic and foreign policy. Throughout this series, she explores the informal rules, cultural nuances, and institutional dynamics that foreign diplomats, particularly those serving in Brazil for the first time, often overlook.

Her central argument is straightforward: many diplomatic misunderstandings do not arise from conflicting interests, but from differing political cultures and contrasting expectations regarding institutions, personal relationships, and the exercise of public authority. Understanding these subtleties is essential for building durable bilateral partnerships.

The interview is intended not only for diplomats, but also for policymakers, scholars, journalists, and anyone interested in understanding how Latin America’s largest democracy actually functions beyond its constitutional framework.

About Dr. Clarita Costa Maia

Dr. Clarita Costa Maia serves as Legislative Consultant to the Federal Senate of Brazil, having specialized in International Relations and National Defense (2003–2015) and, since 2017, in Economic and Regulatory Law, Business Law, and Consumer Protection.

She has also served for three consecutive terms as Chair of the International Relations Committee of the Brazilian Bar Association, Federal District Chapter (OAB-DF), one of Brazil’s leading institutional forums for dialogue on international legal affairs.

Dr. Maia holds a Ph.D. in International Law (summa cum laude) from the University of São Paulo (USP) and an M.A. in the History of International Relations from the University of Brasília (UnB). She also earned an LL.M. from Berkeley Law (University of California, Berkeley), with Certificates in Law and Technology and Business Law.

Her postgraduate studies include specializations in International Humanitarian Law (University of Brasília and Ruhr University Bochum, Germany), the Multilateral Trading System (University of Buenos Aires), Foreign Exchange and International Trade (Getulio Vargas Foundation), and Constitutional Law (Brasiliense Institute of Public Law).

Throughout her career, Dr. Maia has combined academic research with public service, participating in national and international institutions dedicated to international law, strategic studies, international relations, and humanitarian law. Her work focuses on international security, foreign policy, defense, international humanitarian law, counterterrorism, constitutional law, and global governance.

Why This Conversation Matters

Brazil and Israel share decades of diplomatic cooperation and important historical ties. Yet misunderstandings frequently arise, sometimes not because of conflicting national interests, but because of different political cultures and institutional traditions.

Foreign diplomats often arrive in Brazil expecting institutions to operate according to familiar models. Instead, they encounter a political system in which formal constitutional structures coexist with powerful informal practices, personal networks, coalition-building, and distinctive cultural norms governing trust and negotiation.

One of the most common misconceptions concerns Brazilian interpersonal communication. Brazilians are generally warm, welcoming, and highly expressive. Terms such as “my friend,” “count on me,” or “let’s have dinner” are frequently used as expressions of courtesy rather than indicators of deep personal trust or political commitment. Diplomats unfamiliar with these cultural conventions may mistakenly interpret cordiality as strategic alignment or institutional support.

Likewise, understanding Brazilian foreign policy requires looking beyond the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The National Congress, the Supreme Federal Court, state governors, business leaders, universities, religious communities, civil society organizations, and the media all play increasingly influential roles in shaping Brazil’s international posture.

This interview series seeks to provide what many foreign observers lack: a practical guide to understanding the political culture, institutional architecture, and unwritten rules that influence decision-making in Brazil. Rather than focusing solely on constitutional provisions, it explores how Brazilian politics actually works, and what that means for diplomacy in practice.

Ultimately, this interview series seeks to bridge two worlds that are often understood separately: the subtle codes of everyday Brazilian social behavior and the deeper institutional logic that shapes the country’s political decision-making. By combining practical observations about interpersonal communication with a sophisticated analysis of Brazil’s constitutional architecture, legislative dynamics, and diplomatic culture, these conversations offer readers a more complete understanding........

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