Democratic life after the transition: in search of governability in Brazil


Book Description

Este estudo examina o governo de José Sarney, o primeiro após a ditadura militar, o governo de transição "par excellence". Porém, na fase final da redação, ocorreu a eleição de Lula (2002), um acontecimento político significativo, o que me induziu a acrescentar alguns comentários. Para avaliar as perspectivas de um governo com tal perfil, fiz uma breve incursão sobre os governos anteriores, incluindo os de Fernando Collor de Melo, Itamar Franco e Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Nesta segunda década do século XXI, embora sob formas e aparências um tanto alteradas, com novos protagonistas ou alguns remanescentes de conjunturas anteriores, os problemas de governabilidade e democracia ainda fazem parte do cenário político e institucional brasileiro. Trinta e seis anos após a Constituição de 1988, quando a democracia parecia consolidada, tivemos um governo autoritário (Jair Bolsonaro) que procurou ativamente sabotá-la; e um ensaio grotesco, mas não menos grave, de um golpe de estado da extrema direita. Não surpreende, portanto, que questões que foram cruciais nas décadas de 1980 e 1990 ainda estejam na agenda política e exijam atenção para serem confrontadas e, esperançosamente, descartadas como resíduos podres do nosso passado.




Freedom in the World 2018


Book Description

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fifteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.




Rethinking Military Politics


Book Description

The last four years have seen a remarkable resurgence of democracy in the Southern Cone of the Americas. Military regimes have been replaced in Argentina (1983), Uruguay (1985), and Brazil (1985). Despite great interest in these new democracies, the role of the military in the process of transition has been under-theorized and under-researched. Alfred Stepan, one of the best-known analysts of the military in politics, examines some of the reasons for this neglect and takes a new look at themes raised in his earlier work on the state, the breakdown of democracy, and the military. The reader of this book will gain a fresh understanding of new democracies and democratic movements throughout the world and their attempts to understand and control the military. An earlier version of this book has been a controversial best seller in Brazil. To examine the Brazilian case, the author uses a variety of new archival material and interviews, with comparative data from Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and Spain. Brazilian military leaders had consolidated their hold on governmental power by strengthening the military-crafted intelligence services, but they eventually found these same intelligence systems to be a formidable threat. Professor Stepan explains how redemocratization occurred as the military reached into the civil sector for allies in its struggle against the growing influence of the intelligence community. He also explores dissension within the military and the continuing conflicts between the military and the civilian government.




Violence Against Women in Politics


Book Description

Women have made significant inroads into political life in recent years, but in many parts of the world, their increased engagement has spurred attacks, intimidation, and harassment. This book provides the first comprehensive account of this phenomenon, exploring how women came to give these experiences a name: violence against women in politics. Tracing its global emergence as a concept, Mona Lena Krook draws on insights from multiple disciplines--political science, sociology, history, gender studies, economics, linguistics, psychology, and forensic science--to develop a more robust version of this concept to support ongoing activism and inform future scholarly work. Krook argues that violence against women in politics is not simply a gendered extension of existing definitions of political violence privileging physical aggressions against rivals. Rather, it is a distinct phenomenon involving a broad range of harms to attack and undermine women as political actors, taking physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and semiotic forms. Incorporating a wide range of country examples, she illustrates what this violence looks like in practice, catalogues emerging solutions around the world, and considers how to document this phenomenon more effectively. Highlighting its implications for democracy, human rights, and gender equality, the book asserts that addressing this issue requires ongoing dialogue and collaboration to ensure women's equal rights to participate--freely and safely--in political life around the globe.




Barrio Democracy in Latin America


Book Description

The transition to democracy underway in Latin America since the 1980s has recently witnessed a resurgence of interest in experimenting with new forms of local governance emphasizing more participation by ordinary citizens. The hope is both to foster the spread of democracy and to improve equity in the distribution of resources. While participatory budgeting has been a favorite topic of many scholars studying this new phenomenon, there are many other types of ongoing experiments. In Barrio Democracy in Latin America, Eduardo Canel focuses our attention on the innovative participatory programs launched by the leftist government in Montevideo, Uruguay, in the early 1990s. Based on his extensive ethnographic fieldwork, Canel examines how local activists in three low-income neighborhoods in that city dealt with the opportunities and challenges of implementing democratic practices and building better relationships with sympathetic city officials.




The Learning of Democracy in Latin America


Book Description

Learning of Democracy in Latin America - Social Actors & Cultural Change




Fault Lines of Democracy in Post-transition Latin America


Book Description

Concerns about democratization in Latin America today center not on the threat of authoritarian regression, but on the depth, quality, fairness, and completeness of democratization thus far. Large-scale economic and social reforms, stronger and more complex civil societies, and processes of integration and globalization call for new approaches in order to understand the unfolding of democracy in the region. In this context, the contributors to this volume explore the often disjunctive aspects of Latin American democracy, providing a nuanced understanding of contemporary democratic governance.




Democratic Brazil Revisited


Book Description

Brazil presents a compelling example of twenty-first century democracy in action. In this sequel to their landmark study Democratic Brazil, editors Peter Kingstone and Timothy J. Power have assembled a distinguished group of U.S.- and Brazilian-based scholars to assess the impact of competitive politics on Brazilian government, institutions, economics, and society. The 2002 election of Lula da Silva and his Worker's Party promised a radical shift toward progressive reform, transparency, and accountability, opposing the earlier centrist and market-oriented policies of the Cardoso government. But despite the popular support reflected in his 2006 reelection, many observers claim that Lula and his party have fallen short of their platform promises. They have moved to the center in their policies, done little to change the elitist political culture of the past, and have engaged in "politics as usual" in executive-legislative relations, leading to allegations of corruption. Under these conditions, democracy in Brazil remains an enigma. Progress in some areas is offset by stagnation and regression in others: while the country has seen renewed economic growth and significant progress in areas of health care and education, the gap between rich and poor remains vast. Rampant crime, racial inequality, and a pandemic lack of personal security taint the vision of progress. These dilemmas make Brazil a particularly striking case for those interested in Latin America and democratization in general.







Principles for Governance


Book Description

This edited volume provides strategies for reducing inequality and promoting human development through the use of innovative digital technology and the adoption of new bioethical principles for governance. The book is structured around a series of practical proposals which can be adapted to different circumstances, countries, and political systems. Written by an interdisciplinary panel of international researchers and professionals, each chapter details a proposal for a policy—new social technology, Green Deals, robust social assistance—that will move society forward towards a sustainable, digital, and equitable future. Researchers across multiple disciplines--public administration, cognitive technology, E-learning, finance, philosophy of economy, agronomics, forest engineering, bioethics and education—will find this volume a useful reference.