Renata Cavalcanti Muniz is a PhD researcher at the Internationational Institute of Social Studies, part of Erasmus University Rotterdam partially funded by the Brazilian government via the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ-Brazil). Currently, she is in the last year of her PhD as part of two research groups - 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.
Renata?s current research, under the title ?Economic Diplomacy as a tool for development: A critical analysis of the use of Economic Diplomacy in Dutch port development investments in Brazil?, explores the role of the State in the internationalisation of port authorities in general, and on the role of the economic diplomacy in those relations. Despite being used for decades, Economic diplomacy lacks theoretical understanding. The possibility of using economic diplomacy for development is a claim, but hardly a practice. With that in mind, Renata?s research develops a framework for understanding the underpinnings of economic diplomacy. Moreover, the study contributes, by using different research methods, to a deeper understanding of the relationship between Brazil and the Netherlands, the participation of the State in the port sector, and the presence of Port of Rotterdam in investments in Brazil.
Within the broader research interest that brings Diplomacy, Development, International Trade and logistics together, Renata?s research interests include foreign policy, international relations and global trade power nuances. More recently, Renata has also been involved in research initiatives dealing with the Blue Economy, governance, labour, sustainability, social justice and gender. 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 and text analysis derive from her Bachelor studies in communication studies from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RJ).
