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This thesis examines whether Sino-Brazilian trade or investment significantly influences Brazil's voting in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). To examine this relationship, the thesis regresses a dataset of UNGA votes, which the literature commonly uses to represent political influence, with trade and investment data. Understanding whether the growing Sino-Brazilian economic relationship politically impacts Brazil is important both to Brazil and to the United States. Any increase in Chinese influence on Brazil may translate into a corresponding decrease in U.S. influence, which may have implications for the health of Brazil's democracy, regional stability, and U.S. national security. This thesis crafts, for the first time in the literature on Sino-Brazilian relations, an estimable empirical model that examines whether trade or investment influences UNGA voting behavior between these two nations. This is an improved methodology for evaluating this relationship as previous studies relied on simple correlations. The thesis presents five hypotheses, and tests them with two types of voting affinity measurements using both regression analysis and simple correlations. The thesis finds that Brazil's exports to China have a statistically significant, positive relationship, and U.S. aid has a statistically significant, negative relationship, to Sino-Brazilian voting affinity.

This thesis examines whether Sino-Brazilian trade or investment significantly influences Brazil's voting in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). To examine this relationship, this thesis regresses a dataset of UNGA votes, which the literature commonly uses to represent political influence, with trade and investment data. Understanding whether the growing Sino-Brazilian economic relationship politically impacts Brazil is important both to Brazil and to the United States. Any increase in Chinese influence on Brazil may translate into a corresponding decrease in U.S. influence, which may have implications for the health of Brazil's democracy, regional stability and U.S. national security. This thesis crafts, for the first time in the literature on Sino-Brazilian relations, an estimable empirical model that examines whether trade or investment influences UNGA voting behavior between these two nations; this is an improved methodology for evaluating this relationship as previous studies relied on simple correlations. This thesis makes five hypotheses, and tests them with two types of voting affinity measurements using both regression analysis and simple correlations. This thesis finds that Brazil's exports to China have a statistically significant, positive relationship, and U.S. aid has a statistically significant, negative relationship, to Sino-Brazilian voting affinity.

National security policy documents dating back to 1958 explicity argue that the promotion of economic development is essential to U.S. national security (U.S. Government [USG], 1958). President Bush, echoing comments of his predecessors, has repeatedly linked market-oriented reforms with U.S. national security (USG 1982, 2002, 2006). With the advent of transnational terrorist organizations, the utilization of economic reform as a method of combating endemic poverty and security concerns in developing countires has moved to the forefront of non-military policy options. Curiously, these discussions have failed to examine whether reform, in the short-run, creates additional enmity towards the United States.

This thesis examines whether Sino-Brazilian trade or investment significantly influences Brazil's voting in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). To examine this relationship, this thesis regresses a dataset of UNGA votes, which the literature commonly uses to represent political influence, with trade and investment data. Understanding whether the growing Sino-Brazilian economic relationship politically impacts Brazil is important both to Brazil and to the United States. Any increase in Chinese influence on Brazil may translate into a corresponding decrease in U.S. influence, which may have implications for the health of Brazil's democracy, regional stability and U.S. national security. This thesis crafts, for the first time in the literature on Sino-Brazilian relations, an estimable empirical model that examines whether trade or investment influences UNGA voting behavior between these two nations; this is an improved methodology for evaluating this relationship as previous studies relied on simple correlations. This thesis makes five hypotheses, and tests them with two types of voting affinity measurements using both regression analysis and simple correlations. This thesis finds that Brazil's exports to China have a statistically significant, positive relationship, and U.S. aid has a statistically significant, negative relationship, to Sino-Brazilian voting affinity., http://archive.org/details/brazilforsaledoe1094510731