Musical chairs: foreign politics, administrative organizations, and transnational elite’s circulation in João Havelanges election to FIFA (1968-1976)

• Grant number: 17/01186-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 18, 2017
• End date: March 17, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Brazil
• Principal Investigator: Flavio de Campos
• Grantee: Luiz Guilherme Burlamaqui Soares Porto Rocha
• Supervisor: Stefan Rinke
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 15/08123-0 - Musical Chairs: Foreingn Politics, Administrative Organizations, and Transnational Elites circulation in João Havelanges Election to Fifa (1968-1976)., BP.DR

Abstract

In 1974, the Brazilian manager João Havelange, was elected FIFA's president in a two round election, defeating the incumbent Stanley Rous. The victory, often attributed to a successful alliance built with Asia, the Middle East and Africa - at that time referred to as the Third World - caused international surprise. The story told by Havelange himself describes a private odyssey, in which the protagonist crosses two thirds of the world canvassing for votes and defying the institutional status quo. On the other hand, the election can be analyzed as a relevant historical event of social significance. It can be thought as a political window, by means of which the international dynamic of a specific moment in the Cold War can be perceived, especially the limitations and potentialities of the agency of periphery countries at that time. The active role played by the civil-military State and by segments of the Brazilian civil societies in the construction of the campaign indicates the existence of a political project revolving around Havelange's candidacy. In this sense, this project aims at comprehending which actors were involved, how networks were shaped and which political agents were directed engaged in the campaign. (AU)