Democracy on a Tightrope : Politics and Bureaucracy in Brazil / Pedro Abramovay, Gabriela Lotta, Open Society Institute, Kim Olson, Diane R. Grosklaus Whitty.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Abramovay, Pedro, Author.

Lotta, Gabriela, Author.

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Budapest New York Central European University Press, [2025]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Democracy on a Tightrope explores the complex relationship between politics and bureaucracy in Brazil's democratic development since the 1988 Constitution. Drawing from academic research and firsthand government experience, Pedro Abramovay and Gabriela Lotta examine how technocracy, meritocracy, and institutional power can both support and undermine democratic governance. Through vivid case studies-from drug policy to the Internet Bill of Rights-the book reveals how balancing political legitimacy with bureaucratic expertise is essential to building an inclusive, participatory democracy that resists authoritarian drift.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Table of Contents

Translators' Note

Introduction: The Engine of Democracy

PART I Politics and Bureaucracy

1. The Fetishization of Meritocracy

2. Old and New Patterns of Relations Between the State and Society in Brazil

3. Administrative Reform Under Fernando Henrique Cardoso and Luiz Inácio da Silva

Part II Democracy Struggling to Balance: Bureaucracy Overrides Politics

4. The Access to Information Law

5. The Battisti Case

PART III Democracy Struggling to Balance: Bureaucratic Disdain for Politics

6. Drug Policy

7. The ENCCLA Anti-Corruption Network and Operation Carwash

PART IV Democracy Striking a Balance: Politics and Bureaucracy Foster Democracy

8. The Thinking About the Law Initiative

9. The Statute of Indigenous Peoples

10. The Dry Law

11. The Internet Bill of Rights

Conclusions

Acknowledgments

Glossary

Bibliography

Supplementary Reading

Index

Notes:

This eBook is made available Open Access under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed February 05 2026)

ISBN:

963-386-783-5

963-386-782-7

1-003-75790-1

9781003757900

OCLC:

1564552049