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This period came to an end during the First World War as Brazil sought a moreassertive and independent role for itself in international affairs. Underpinning thisshift was a renewed sense of recognition-seeking, both for Brazil’s membership ofthe Western world, as well as for its contribution to the war effort on the side of theAllies. In a deeper sense, the 1920s marked the birth of a truly indigenous Braziliancultural awareness, which “rejected further imitation of foreign models”. 465 Thisrejection was accompanied by a newfound sense of disillusionment with thestructure and process of international politics. The disappointment of their failedattempts to secure a permanent seat on the Council of the League of Nationshighlighted the hierarchical nature of international relations for Brazilian diplomats.This hierarchical view of the international system permeated their views ondisarmament, as well as their suspicion of the great powers more generally. 466From the 1920s onward, the pattern of Brazil’s foreign policy may usefully be seenas a contest between the two concepts of selfhood entertained by its elites for muchof the twentieth century. On one hand, the country sought its identity and physicalsecurity in close alliance with the US, and the ‘Western’ world more generally. Onthe other, leaders during certain periods sought to construct Brazil as a member ofthe Third World, emphasising its commonalities with Africa and Asia, by way ofpoverty and underdevelopment. Both approaches had their sources in domesticpolitics, and also served divergent functions on the domestic scene. Whileidentification with Africa, and the Third World more broadly, served to underscorethe regime’s foreign policy autonomy, close association with Western powers servedto underline Brazil’s exceptionalism and distinctiveness in Latin America, and itsupward development trajectory.The overarching structure of the Cold War drew important distinctions betweendomestic groups on foreign policy. Those who favoured proximity with the US, andhence, ‘traditional’ foreign policy, saw the Cold War in terms of a struggle betweenCommunism and capitalism. Those who adopted the ‘nationalist’ position, on theother hand, saw the primary conflict as one between the developed and developing465 Stanley. E. Hilton, “Brazil and the Post-Versailles World: Elite Images and ForeignPolicy Strategy, 1919-1929”, Journal of Latin American Studies, 12, No.2 (1980): 341.466 Ibid., 342.196