Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention
Between 2016 and 2020, a group of activist generals successfully plotted the Brazilian military's gradual return to the political center stage with powers unseen since the dictatorship. They achieved this without formally breaking the law, suspending the democratic process or overthrowing the g...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SAGE Publishing
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Politics in Latin America |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211039860 |
| _version_ | 1811272808827715584 |
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| author | Karabekir Akkoyunlu José Antonio Lima |
| author_facet | Karabekir Akkoyunlu José Antonio Lima |
| author_sort | Karabekir Akkoyunlu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Between 2016 and 2020, a group of activist generals successfully plotted the Brazilian military's gradual return to the political center stage with powers unseen since the dictatorship. They achieved this without formally breaking the law, suspending the democratic process or overthrowing the government. We call this a “stealth intervention,” an incremental yet systematic attempt to redesign politics without causing a rupture, that fits neither in the existing typology of coups nor in the literature on democratic backsliding. We argue that Brazil’s stealth intervention, built upon the military’s existing tutelary prerogatives and driven by an unreformed praetorian worldview that resurfaced amidst a sustained crisis of democracy, challenges the prevalent view of the armed forces as a reactive force that intervenes in civilian politics only when its institutional interests are threatened. Finally, we show that democratic backsliding in Brazil started under Bolsonaro’s predecessor, Michel Temer, and point to the generals’ understudied role in this process. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:46:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5938308325b84ba1a0eff67b7b8f943b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1866-802X 1868-4890 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T22:46:58Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Politics in Latin America |
| spelling | doaj.art-5938308325b84ba1a0eff67b7b8f943b2022-12-22T03:13:30ZengSAGE PublishingJournal of Politics in Latin America1866-802X1868-48902022-04-011410.1177/1866802X211039860Brazil’s Stealth Military InterventionKarabekir Akkoyunlu0José Antonio Lima1 School of International Relations, , Sao Paulo, Brazil International Relations Institute, , Sao Paulo, BrazilBetween 2016 and 2020, a group of activist generals successfully plotted the Brazilian military's gradual return to the political center stage with powers unseen since the dictatorship. They achieved this without formally breaking the law, suspending the democratic process or overthrowing the government. We call this a “stealth intervention,” an incremental yet systematic attempt to redesign politics without causing a rupture, that fits neither in the existing typology of coups nor in the literature on democratic backsliding. We argue that Brazil’s stealth intervention, built upon the military’s existing tutelary prerogatives and driven by an unreformed praetorian worldview that resurfaced amidst a sustained crisis of democracy, challenges the prevalent view of the armed forces as a reactive force that intervenes in civilian politics only when its institutional interests are threatened. Finally, we show that democratic backsliding in Brazil started under Bolsonaro’s predecessor, Michel Temer, and point to the generals’ understudied role in this process.https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211039860 |
| spellingShingle | Karabekir Akkoyunlu José Antonio Lima Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention Journal of Politics in Latin America |
| title | Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention |
| title_full | Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention |
| title_fullStr | Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention |
| title_short | Brazil’s Stealth Military Intervention |
| title_sort | brazil s stealth military intervention |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/1866802X211039860 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT karabekirakkoyunlu brazilsstealthmilitaryintervention AT joseantoniolima brazilsstealthmilitaryintervention |