Street-level bureaucrats in the eye of the populist storm: Lesson from municipal transition of power

• Grant number: 25/05875-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - Public Policies
• Agreement: Research Foundation - Flanders (FWO)
• Principal Investigator: Gabriela Spanghero Lotta
• Grantee: Virginia Rocha da Silva
• Host Institution: Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo (EAESP). Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 24/08453-9 - Street-level bureaucrats in the eye of the populist storm? Lessons from municipal transitions of power, AP.R

Abstract

How do newly elected populist executive local politicians and street-level bureaucrats (SLBs) interact, and how does this relationship evolve over time? This project examines subnational variation in Brazil and Belgium, focusing on the dynamics between populist mayors and SLBs. More specifically, it addresses three key research subquestions: (i) What are the mutual expectations of newly elected executive local politicians and street-level bureaucrats shortly after political turnover regarding their interactions, and how and why do these expectations change over time? (ii) Do street-level bureaucrats experience pressure from newly elected populist executive local politicians, and how does this pressure develop over time? (iii) How do street-level bureaucrats learn to cope with these pressures, and what influences their coping mechanism choices and changes?In a broader sense, the research explores how conflict and cooperation unfold in these interactions, shaping governance and policy implementation at the local level. While existing literature has extensively examined the broader consequences of populism in advanced democracies, there remains a significant gap in understanding how SLBs navigate the tensions posed by populist politicians, what strategies they adopt to resist or accommodate political influence, and how elected officials seek to gain bureaucratic support for their policy agendas. Given that SLBs play a crucial role in translating political directives into practice, understanding their responses to populist leadership is essential for evaluating local governance structures' institutional stability and adaptability. Furthermore, these interactions can have far-reaching implications for democratic backsliding, public administration efficiency, and the degree of bureaucratic autonomy in different institutional contexts.This project contributes to this debate by employing a mixed-methods approach, combining qualitative and quantitative analyses to provide a comprehensive picture of these interactions. It draws on in-depth interviews with mayors and bureaucrats to gain a deeper understanding of their experiences, conflicts, and cooperation strategies over time. These qualitative accounts allow for a nuanced exploration of how SLBs perceive and respond to the expectations and pressures imposed by populist executives, as well as how these relationships evolve as both actors learn to navigate the political and administrative landscape. Additionally, the study incorporates survey data to systematically assess patterns of bureaucratic responses to populist pressures, enabling comparative insights between Brazil and Belgium. By leveraging both qualitative and quantitative data, the research seeks to uncover broader trends while also capturing the complexity and variation within specific local contexts.By integrating these methodologies, the research aims to shed light on how populist politicians attempt to reshape local governance and how street-level bureaucrats try to resist or adapt to these pressures. By tracking changes in this relationship over time and covering current events rapidly, this project takes an innovative approach, and its findings can contribute to expanding the literature on populism and public administration by offering a deeper understanding of the relationship between SLBs and populist politicians at the local level in a comparative perspective. Due to its longitudinal design, it also engages with socialization theory, providing insights into how bureaucrats adjust and internalize new political environments over time.