MOSCOW. OCTOBER 3, 2026. PIR PRESS. “Brazil, on the one hand, strives for full technological sovereignty in the nuclear sphere and, on the other, participates in the principal international non-proliferation regimes that constrain this sovereignty. It is noteworthy that not every key project in the country’s nuclear policy was dictated solely by internal logic. The first institutions emerged largely in response to the United States’ reluctance to share technology in exchange for Brazilian raw materials. This very circumstance shaped the drive for independence and led to the search for partners abroad, particularly the Federal Republic of Germany. The foundation of the entire nuclear program, which laid the scientific and technical base, was the parallel military program launched in 1979,” – Vasily Pridein, graduate of the International Security MA Program conducted jointly by PIR Center and MGIMO University.
PIR Center is pleased to announce the publication of a new report titled “Atom under the Southern Cross: Between Peaceful Energy and Brazil’s National Security” (In Russian), prepared by Vasily Pridein, graduate of the International Security MA Program conducted jointly by PIR Center and MGIMO University. The report appears in the PIR Center Reports series (No. 54) and constitutes a comprehensive study of the current state of Brazil’s nuclear policy.
It is based on the author’s master’s thesis defended at MGIMO University in June 2026. The academic supervisor of the report is Dr. Marcelo Bezerra, Ph.D., Tutor at MGIMO’s Department of International Relations and Foreign Policy of Russia. The reviewers are Dr. Ana Lívia Araújo Esteves, Ph.D. in Political Science, Lecturer at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics, and Dr. Andrey Malov, Ph.D. in History, Member of PIR Center Advisory Board and Leading Expert at the Institute for International Studies of MGIMO University.
The purpose of the present report is to analyze the contemporary state of Brazil’s nuclear policy and to assess the prospects for the construction of the country’s first nuclear-powered submarine. The study examines the evolution and history of this policy, as well as its place within the system of international security and the nuclear non-proliferation regime. The work consists of three chapters. The first chapter is devoted to the history and evolution of Brazilian nuclear policy, including the development of the parallel nuclear program. The second chapter addresses the normative and legal foundations of Brazilian nuclear policy and the country’s participation in international treaties and organizations. The third chapter focuses on the technological development of Brazil’s nuclear program in the context of national security, including the nuclear submarine project, the issue of non-signature of the IAEA Additional Protocol, and the prospects for Russian-Brazilian cooperation in the nuclear field.
Key findings:
- Brazil occupies a distinctive place among states possessing a developed nuclear-technological potential. The country has its own infrastructure for uranium mining and enrichment, develops nuclear power generation, and is implementing a large-scale program or the construction of a nuclear-powered submarine. At the same time, Brazil officially adheres to the principles of the peaceful use of atomic energy and is a party to the principal international mechanisms of nuclear non-proliferation
- The aspiration to strengthen its own strategic and technological autonomy is most clearly manifested in Brazil’s non-signature of the IAEA Additional Protocol. The Brazilian position is based primarily on the need to protect national technological developments, especially in the field of centrifuge uranium enrichment”
- An equally important part of the Brazilian program is the peaceful use of nuclear technologies. At present, two power units are in operation – Angra-1 and Angra-2 – which supply approximately 3 per cent of the country’s electricity. The Angra-3 unit under construction is expected to increase this share substantially. The development of a domestic uranium enrichment plant at Resende, employing centrifuges of indigenous design, is gradually reducing dependence on foreign suppliers of fuel for nuclear power plants. Looking ahead, the procurement of Russian small modular reactors, as well as floating nuclear power plants, is under active discussion
Reviews of the PIR Center Report
“The author has drawn on a wide range of up-to-date sources and literature, including materials in Portuguese, which ensures the reliability of the analysis conducted. The study makes it possible to identify the changes introduced by successive governments into Brazil’s nuclear policy while simultaneously revealing the constant principles and objectives that guide the Brazilian state along the path of the peaceful development of nuclear energy. The research contributes to the academic discussion by providing current information on the activities of the last two Brazilian administrations and on trends in Russian-Brazilian cooperation in this field”, – Ana Lívia Araújo Esteves, Ph.D. in Political Science, Lecturer at the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs of the Higher School of Economics.
“A particular merit of the work is the author’s attention to the existing legal gaps in the international regulation of the use of nuclear technologies for nuclear-powered submarines in the Brazilian context. This problem is especially relevant in light of the similar AUKUS program, under which Australia, as a non-nuclear-weapon state, is acquiring the capability to build nuclear-powered submarines. In this connection, particular interest attaches to the mechanism provided for in Article 14 of the IAEA model agreements for the use of nuclear material in non-proscribed military activities”, – Andrey Malov, Ph.D. in History, Leading Expert at the Institute for International Studies of MGIMO University, Member of PIR Center Advisory Board.
Keywords: International security; Nuclear nonproliferation; Brazil
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