Renata Cavalcanti Muniz

Renata Cavalcanti Muniz is a PhD researcher at ISS funded by the Brazilian government via the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ-Brazil). Currently, at ISS-Erasmus, she is in the last year of her PhD as part of two research programs - Development Economics (DEC) and Civic Innovation (CI). She is also part of the project coordinated by Dr Lee Pegler, Governance of Labour & Logistics for Sustainability (GOLLS). The program is a cooperation between ISS and Brazilian institutions and focuses on governance, labour and logistics issues related to value chains between Brazil and the Netherlands.  Economic diplomacy has been practised for ages, but it yet to be understood in theory. A limited understanding may lead to unbalanced relationships and lost opportunities. The possibility of the use of economic diplomacy to promote development is also hardly understood, especially under the definition of economic diplomacy focused on business promotion only. With that in mind, in Renata's research under the title of “Economic Diplomacy as a tool for development: A critical analysis of the use of Economic Diplomacy in Dutch port development investments in Brazil”, she develops a framework for understanding the underpinnings of the use of economic diplomacy by Brazil and the Netherlands in general, and to the sector of ports in particular. The study is a Case Study design, using qualitative data analysis methods (e.g. by the use of elements of discourse analysis) and quantitative methods, looking at the use of economic diplomacy and the participation of the State in port development investments made by the Port of Rotterdam Authority in Brazil.  Within the broader research interest that brings Diplomacy, Development and International Trade and logistics together, Renata’s research interests include foreign policy and global trade power nuances. Renata combines an academic background in International Relations from her master at the Geneva School of Diplomacy and specialisation at the University Cândido Mendes, in Brazil, and a managerial Knowledge from her MBA in Business Management from the Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). Her interest and experience in discourses derive from her Bachelor studies in communication studies from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ).