Strategies for Countering Democratic Backsliding: the Brazilian case in comparative perspective

• Grant number: 25/08298-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: January 07, 2026
• End date: December 06, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Political Science - State and Government
• Principal Investigator: Paolo Ricci
• Grantee: Gabriel Pinho Brochado
• Supervisor: Kurt Gerhard Weyland
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Texas at Austin (UT), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 24/13499-8 - Militant democracy in Brazil: Unraveling militant democracy's strategies in countering anti-democratic movements, BP.DD

Abstract

Democracies are increasingly challenged by undemocratic non-violent actors who, once elected, implement agendas that gradually and substantially erode democratic institutions. While most of the literature on institutional resistance to democratic backsliding remains mainly focused on European cases, this project analyzes how political elites in Latin America respond to such threats. It centers on two types of institutional strategies: those mobilized to resist the erosion while the undemocratic leaders are in power (resistance), and those focused on restoring democracy and preventing their return after they leave office (reparation). This project argues that democratic resilience is not automatic; it results from calculated actions by political elites operating within constrained yet open opportunities. Therefore, understanding resistance requires attention not only to institutions and exogenous conjunctures, but also to the agency. Through a comparative analysis of institutional responses to democratic backsliding in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, particularly in the judiciary, the strategies will be categorized according to their degree of tolerance or intolerance (content), the actor involved (agency), and the timing of application (context). The methodology combines typological construction with process-tracing to understand how they can be successful. By positioning the Brazilian case within a broader Latin American context, this project seeks to understand under which conditions institutions can counter illiberal movements. It will be developed during a research stay at the University of Texas at Austin, a leading center for the study of Latin American democratic institutions. (AU)