A Wounded Democracy

Analysis of the Determinant Factors of Democratic Backsliding in Brazil

Bibliographic Data

ID2641665
AuthorsDavi Mendes Málaga (Universidade Federal de Viçosa, corresponding author), Suely De Fátima Ramos Silveira (0000-0002-1303-7190, Universidade Federal de Viçosa)
Year2024
Volume16
Issue3
Pages13-26
Publication date2024-12-16
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueCosmopolitan Civil Societies An Interdisciplinary Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1837-5391 • E-ISSN: 1837-5391
PublisherUniversity of Technology, Sydney (UTS) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.5130/ccs.v16.i3.9071
OpenAlexW4405438416
LanguageEN
References cited22

Despite its prominence in the international political landscape and its widespread adoption throughout the world, democracy is seldom a stable regimen, and often repeatedly stressed and tested by attempts to wield autocratic power. Anti-democratic attacks assume particular forms and may lead to varied outcomes, from the strengthening of enduring democracies, to democratic backsliding or its complete rupture. Among several similar cases, Brazil recently underwent an attempt against its democracy, which climaxed in an attempted coup d'état on January 8th, 2023. This paper aims to examine democratic backsliding as a phenomenon, through an analysis of the coup attempted in Brazil in 2023 as a case study. It was perceived that the presence of a would-be autocrat with a populist strategy in command of the executive branch of government played an important role in promoting democratic backsliding. While the Brazilian democracy sustained some lasting damage to its institutions, it has resisted this attack by autocracy

Autocracy · Democracy · Development economics · Economics · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Brazilian cultural history and politics · Law · Philosophy · Politics and Society in Latin America · Social and Political Issues

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