Political Control and Bureaucratic Resistance
The Case of Environmental Agencies in Brazil
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3013702 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katherine Bersch (0000-0003-4112-0079, Davidson College), Gabriela Lotta (0000-0003-2801-1628, Fundação Getulio Vargas) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 66 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 27-50 |
| Publication date | 2024-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Latin American Politics and Society (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1531-426X • E-ISSN: 1548-2456 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/lap.2023.22 |
| OpenAlex | W4387973348 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 21 |
| References cited | 41 |
Why does the ability of political leaders to control the bureaucracy vary? With strong meritocratic recruitment and tenure protections, Brazil appears an ideal case for successful bureaucratic resistance against political control. However, our analysis reveals how Bolsonaro overcame initial resistance by recalibrating strategies, ultimately dominating many key sectors of the bureaucracy. Drawing on over 100 interviews with public officials, we find that strategies of political control and bureaucratic resistance unfold in a dynamic, yet often predictable, pattern based on leaders' previous experiences and their ability to learn, adjust, and tighten their grip on the instruments of the state. The Bolsonaro administration transformed the regulatory framework and targeted individual state employees, reducing arenas of contestation and inducing public sector workers to remain silent, implementing the president's policy preferences. We examine these control strategies in environmental agencies, their replication, and potential long-term consequences
Biology · Bureaucracy · Economics · Management · Meritocracy · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Corruption and Economic Development · Law · Public Administration · Public Policy and Administration Research · Regulation and Compliance Studies
Expert Knowledge in Democracies
Clivagens emergentes no mundo empresarial brasileiro
Bureaucratic Resistance in Times of Democratic Backsliding
Public Administration and the Illiberal Challenge
All on the Same Page? Comparing European Populist Radical Right Governments’ Foreign Policy towards China
Democratic backsliding and the challenges for public administration scholarship
The Organizational Dynamics of Bureaucratic Resistance to Undemocratic Pressures
Staff (mis)allocation in public agencies
Political will and institutional reform as enablers of coherent disaster and climate risk governance in Sadc and beyond
Illiberal transformation of patronage bureaucracy under the populist radical right
The Politics of Regulatory Oversight
Bureaucracies' Strategies for Coping With Populism
When the Regulatory State Meets Populism
The Unexpected Actor? Civil‐Military Relations and Regulatory Agency Control in Brazil
Rescuing state capacity
The agency of (public) agencies
Bureaucrats’ willingness to resist democratic backsliding
Resisting Democratic Backsliding From Within the State
Brazil's Public Administration and the Challenge of New Democracies
Introduction “street‐level bureaucracy, populism, and democratic backsliding
What Makes Bureaucracies Politically Resilient? Evidence from Brazil’s Covid‐19 Vaccination Campaign
Bureaucrats' processing of organizational reputation signals
Bureaucratic Capacity and Political Autonomy Within National States
Trajetórias da burocracia na Nova República
Assault on Democracy
The Deadlock of Democracy in Brazil
Regime Threats and State Solutions
Politician’s Dilemma
Working, Shirking, and Sabotage
Making Waves
Democratic Backsliding and Public Administration
When Democracies Deliver
Environmental governance under Bolsonaro
Democratic Backsliding, Populism, and Public Administration
H Erbert A. S Imon
Populism and Public Administration
Exit, Voice, Loyalty, and Neglect
Environmental Policy in the Bolsonaro Government
The Bureaucratic Vocation
Public Management for Populists
Assessing the Impact of Bureaucracy Bashing by Electoral Campaigns
(Mis)Led by an Outsider
State Capacity, Bureaucratic Politicization, and Corruption in the Brazilian State
Innovation, voice, and hierarchy in the public sector
Populism and the military
Bounded Rationality
Political Control
The Politics of Sentencing Reform in Brazil
Right-wing populism and the climate change agenda
A resposta da burocracia ao contexto de retrocesso democrático
Policy dismantling and democratic regression in Brazil under Bolsonaro
Field research in conflict environments
Bureaucratic Activism
From Max Weber
| Unique citing works | 21 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 10,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 19 |