Brazilian Cooperation causal mechanisms in Africa (2003-2010) David Beltr˜ ao Simons Tavares de Albuquerque 1 Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to address the Brazilian cooperation causal mechanisms in Africa between 2003 and 2010. Process-tracing methods are tools for studying causal mechanisms in a single-case research design, such as this period in Brazilian cooperation in Africa, given the historical oscillations of Brazilian policy toward this continent. The first part of the article will present the methodological aspects of the research through an analysis of theory-building process-tracing. A literature review is presented from which emerges the main empirical explanations of the process of establishing cooperation projects, in order to identify the different mechanisms pointed out by the literature. In the second part, the analysis of the causal mechanisms that would influence the process through the dialogue between theory and data is reported. According to the data found so far, it can be observed that the institutionalization of multilateral agencies with strategic states for Brazil, such as the CPLP, and their use by Presidential Diplomacy constitute the causal mechanisms between the independent and dependent variables. Introduction The past decade witnessed a complex paradigmatic shift between the North and South hierar- chies. Traditional donors from the Development Assistance Committee (DAC / OECD) continue to exercise substantial budgetary and structural influence on development cooperation projects. Non-DAC donors, however, such as China, Brazil, India, Turkey, and Indonesia, like their DAC counterparts, are motivated by the pursuit of geoeconomic and soft power interests, but given their nature as rising states, they are positioned differently within regional and global power structures. They have thus been directed to different agendas in their development assistance, noting different aspects of simply giving and receiving. This change is the result of the interaction between different trends, events and actors. The ideological and ontological challenge material of non-DAC partners coincided with the impacts of financial crises in various countries, leading to increasing public and political pressure to reduce or redefine foreign aid. While South-South assistance includes humanitarian and technical assistance in education, health and welfare, most Southern donors should prioritize the construction of energy and transport infrastructure, supporting agricultural modernization, and agricultural and statistical production (Mawdsley, 2017). Studies that verify the development of cooperation-determining factors for Brazilian projects in Africa have different results (Dreher, Fuchs & Nunnenkamp, 2013; Dreher & Fuchs, 2015; Mwase, 2011; Lima, 2014; Semrau & Thiele, 2017; Albuquerque, 2018). Those came from the use of different databases, the application of different independent variables, non-standard measurements and different statistical models. The presence of the Portuguese language condition, however, is 27