The Rule of Law in Brazil: The Legal Construction of Inequality

Description

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, which is a young democracy struggling with its longstanding extractive institutions and entrenched interests. In this book, Juliano Zaiden Benvindo offers a broad perspective of the functioning, evolution, and dynamics of the rule of law in Brazil from different perspectives. 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. Volume 2 in the series Rule of Law In Context Acknowledgements 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 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 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? 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 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? V. The Organised Civil Society and the Quest for Fairness Amidst Self-Preservation Movements: A Permanent Struggle VI. A Free and Independent Media? 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 II. The Future of Brazil"s Rule of Law Bibliography Index