The lack of international leadership and the possible appearance of “Lula 3.0” in the global context

Abstract

This study aims to answer the following research question: In the face of the polycrisis affecting international governance, could President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula) reemerge as an international leader? For this purpose, a theoretical-conceptual framework on the polycrisis scenario that has a direct impact on the international order, multilateralism and governance is developed, to then analyse the notion and importance of leadership in International Relations (IR). This makes it possible to carry out a case study of the beginning of Lula's third government (2023-2026/Lula 3.0), in order to answer whether he meets the requirements of leadership. The results indicate that, despite his international political capital, personal skills, determination and negotiating capacity, Lula 3.0 needs to overcome some internal and external challenges in order to achieve the (national, regional and international) leadership that he obtained in his previous terms in office.