This course will analyze the major political events in modern Brazil, from Getúlio Vargas to Lula. A close reading of the Brazilian Constitution will shed light on the period of military rule (1964-1985) and will introduce students to the division of powers between federal authorities and local administrations. The World Social Forum launched in Porto Alegre in 2001 will be studied in this context as a civil society initiative towards local governance. Special attention will be devoted to Brazil’s foreign policy since 1930, particularly with the United States, as well as the more recent process of regional integration with Mercosul and the leading role played in the South-South cooperation and strategic partnerships. Finally, the course will address the issue of leadership and corruption in Brazil, with emphasis on the control of the judiciary and the media.
Learning outcomes:
By the end of the course students will be able to:
Assess the different values that lay behind the 1988 Constitution
Identify the multiple components of the Brazilian political system
Evaluate the tensions between leadership and the media in Brazil
Understand the major trends in Brazil’s foreign policy
Recommended readings:
Thomas Skidmore, Politics in Brazil, 1930-1964: An experiment in Democracy. Oxford University Press, 1969.
Robert Levine and John Crocitti (eds.), The Brazil Reader: History, Culture, Politics. Duke University Press, 1999.
Jens Hentschke (ed.), Vargas and Brazil: New Perspectives. New York: Palgrave, 2006.
Sean Burges, Brazilian Foreign Policy after the Cold War. University of Florida Press, 2011.
This course will analyze the major political events in modern Brazil, from Getúlio Vargas to Lula. A close reading of the Brazilian Constitution will shed light on the period of military rule (1964-1985) and will introduce students to the division of powers between federal authorities and local administrations. The World Social Forum launched in Porto Alegre in 2001 will be studied in this context as a civil society initiative towards local governance. Special attention will be devoted to Brazil’s foreign policy since 1930, particularly with the United States, as well as the more recent process of regional integration with Mercosul and the leading role played in the South-South cooperation and strategic partnerships. Finally, the course will address the issue of leadership and corruption in Brazil, with emphasis on the control of the judiciary and the media.
By the end of the course students will be able to: