Rate My Professor Deborah Barros Leal Farias

Deborah Barros Leal Farias is a Brazilian-born Associate Professor in the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney. She teaches Politics and International Relations. Her multidisciplinary academic background encompasses a PhD in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada (2008-2015), an MA in International Relations from the University of Brasilia, Brazil (1999-2000), a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Fortaleza, Brazil (1992-1998), and a Bachelor of Economics from the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil (1992-1997).

Her research specializations include global governance, the international political economy of developing countries, Brazilian domestic and foreign policy, international relations, global political economy, and environmental policy. Notable publications feature the book Aid and Technical Cooperation As a Foreign Policy Tool for Emerging Donors (Routledge, 2018); journal articles such as 'Heritage as power: History and tradition in constructing Brazil’s far-right populism' (Review of International Studies, 2025, with G. Casarões), 'Developing countries in global trade governance: comparing norms on inequality in the WTO and GSP schemes' (Review of International Political Economy, 2025, with C. Weinhardt), 'Brazilian foreign policy under Jair Bolsonaro: far-right populism and the rejection of the liberal international order' (Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 2022, with G.S.P.E. Casarões, 160 citations), 'Securitizing Zika: the case of Brazil' (Security Dialogue, 2019, 62 citations), and 'Differentiation in Environmental Treaty Making: Measuring Provisions and How They Reshape the Depth–Participation Dilemma' (Global Environmental Politics, 2023). She has earned the UNSW Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning, Early Career Category (2020), and the UNSW Faculty of Social Sciences Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence, Rising Star Category (2019). Her work illuminates power dynamics, country classifications, populism, and Global South perspectives in international affairs.