Overview

This book provides a broad perspective of the functioning, evolution, and dynamics of the rule of law in Brazil. It stresses not only how the rule of law has developed in the legal system, but also how the political institutions and extra-legal organisations have transformed its foundations. The rule of law is not a simple concept when it comes to defining the political, economic, and legal developments of a country like Brazil. Similar to many other Latin American countries, Brazil is a young democracy struggling with its longstanding extractive institutions and entrenched interests. It features, however, one of Latin America’s richest constitutional moments, when civil society actively participated in drafting the most democratic constitution in the country’s history. Brazil has since strengthened its institutions and the rule of law, but the road toward consolidating them has been challenged by inequality and the legacies of that authoritarian past. The book explores how Brazilian democracy has dealt with the high levels of social inequality and the authoritarian mindset that still play a big role in its fate, and asks whether the country’s democratic achievements and institutional framework are sufficiently strong to enforce the rule of law as an imperative for Brazil’s development, especially in times when the country is most in need of them.

Full Product Details

Author:   Juliano Zaiden Benvindo (University of Brasília, Brazil) ,  Gabrielle Appleby (University of New South Wales Australia) ,  Lorne Neudorf (University of Adelaide Australia)
Publisher:   Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Imprint:   Hart Publishing
Dimensions:   Width: 15.60cm , Height: 2.50cm , Length: 23.40cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9781509961900

ISBN 10:   1509961909
Pages:   264
Publication Date:   25 January 2024
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

Introduction I. What Happened to the Brazil that was ‘Taking Off’? II. The Structure of this Book 1. The Conceptual Evolution of the Rule of Law in Brazil I. Introduction: A Prosaic Approach to the Rule of Law II. Democracy and Social Justice in the Core of the Rule of Law: A Normative Dispute? III. Estado de Direito in Brazil: Between Preservation and Democratisation IV. Estado de Direito in Brazil: Social Inequality as a Hindrance to Coordination V. The Rule of Law and Coordination in Unequal Societies 2. The Local Lived Experiences of the Rule of Law in Brazil: The Impacts of Social Inequality I. Introduction: A Persistent Inequality II. Brazil and its Longstanding Struggle with Social Inequality III. Inclusiveness and Historical Inequalities in Brazil A. Racial Inequality B. Gender Inequality C. Indigenous People D. Regional Inequalities IV. Inequality and Brazil’s Declining Rule of Law 3. The Authoritarian Mindset and the Rule of Law in Brazil I. Introduction: Hobsbawm’s Omen and the Authoritarian Mindset in Brazil II. The Theoretical Justification of the Authoritarian Mindset: The Three Main Pillars III. The Reinvention of the Authoritarian Mindset in History A. The Authoritarian Mindset in Authoritarian Regimes B. The Authoritarian Mindset in the Awakening of Democracy: A Clash of Narratives C. The Authoritarian Mindset and the Revival of the Military under Jair Bolsonaro IV. The Reinvention of the Authoritarian Mindset after Years of Democratic Life 4. The Rule of Law and Brazilian Political Institutions: A Reshaped ‘Coalition Presidentialism’ I. Introduction: Some Cautionary Remarks About the Brazilian Political System II. The Brazilian Political System: Efficiency or Deep Dysfunctionality? A. A Strong Presidentialism? B. A Highly Fragmented and Oligarchical Congress C. Clientelism and ‘Coalition Presidentialism’: A Necessary Correlation? III. A Reshaped ‘Coalition Presidentialism’ 5. The Rule of Law and Brazil’s Politicised Judicial System I. Introduction: The Judiciary in a Country in Crisis II. The Judiciary’s Constitutional Design A. The Federal, State and Specialised Courts B. The Federal Supreme Court C. The ‘Ancillary’ Institutions of Justice: The Public Ministry, the Advocacy-General of the Union and the Public Defender’s Office III. A More Accessible, Though Still Unaccountable, Judiciary and the Increasing Culture of Rights IV. Privileges and the Judicial System: The Judiciary as a Blatant Illustration of Brazil’s Inequality V. Criminal Justice and Police Forces 6. The Extra-Legal Influences on the Rule of Law and Mechanisms of Accountability in Brazil I. Introduction: The Paradoxical Relationship Between the Private and Public Sectors in Brazil II. The Data of Corruption in Brazil According to International Indicators III. The Combat of Corruption in Brazil: The Effects of Path Dependence, Inequality, and Institutional Design Flaws IV. Accountability Institutions, Incremental Improvements in Combatting Corruption and Political Backlash: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back? A. Accountability Institutions B. The Expected Political Backlash V. The Organised Civil Society and the Quest for Fairness Amidst Self-Preservation Movements: A Permanent Struggle VI. A Free and Independent Media? A. The Media as a Key Player in Brazilian Democracy and in its Backsliding B. The Power of the New Media: Fake News as the New Normal 7. The Rule of Law in Brazil and the Challenges of International Law I. Introduction: Brazil as a Soft Power? II. The Rule of Law in Brazil and International Law: Impacts on the Domestic Level III. Brazil and Regional Integration: The MERCOSUR IV. Brazil and International Tribunals: The Inter-American Court of Human Rights V. The International Perception of Brazil’s Compliance with the Rule of Law 8. The Future of the Rule of Law in Brazil I. The Destabilising Factors of the Rule of Law in Brazil A. The Growing Polarisation in Society and Politics B. The Disarrangement of the Political and Judicial Systems C. A New ‘Equilibrium’? II. The Future of Brazil’s Rule of Law

Reviews

Democracy and the rule of law are under serious stress in Brazil. But what explains this current crisis in democratic constitutionalism in Brazil, and what can be done to address it? In this important and insightful new book, leading Brazilian scholar Juliano Zaiden Benvindo takes on these and other questions, to offer a fresh and vital account of the rule of law in Brazil. --Rosalind Dixon Juliano Benvindo's book is one of the most accurate and intense reconstructions of the rule of law in Brazil. By Innovating the constitutional and political science's perspectives on a jurisdiction still understudied abroad, Benvindo's analysis provides a unique account of the severest causes for the rule of law failures in this country: the normalisation of both social inequality and authoritarian mindset. By examining whether the institutional framework under construction can help the rule of law to foster an adequate development for Brazil, The Rule of Law in Brazil: The Legal Construction of Inequality delves into topics such as the coalition presidentialism, the judicial system, the accountability institutions, the role of international law and the future of the rule of law. Much more than a case study, this book also offers a transdisciplinary point of view that will, for sure, contribute to the rule of law comparative studies. --Emilio Peluso Neder Meyer There is no better book on the modern challenges in state and society in Brazil. Drawing from history, law, economics, philosophy and politics, Juliano Zaiden Benvindo plays tour guide, analyst and critic, asking the key question that will determine the fate of the country: can Brazilians meet the high expectations the Constitution sets for them? This book is Benvindo at his best: astute, deliberative, provocative and masterful. An essential book for anyone interested in contemporary Brazil, the rule of law, and the long march toward equality in the world. --Richard Albert

Author Information

Juliano Zaiden Benvindo is Professor of Constitutional Law and Head of the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies at the University of Brasília, Brazil.

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