Bureaucratic militarization as a mode of democratic backsliding : lessons from Brazil

Abstract

This article analyses bureaucratic militarization in Brazil under the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro as illiberal transformation from within, constituting a specific modus of democratic backsliding. Quantitative data about the presence of military members in civil organizations over time and qualitative data from interviews with civil servants directed by “military men” show how military networks infiltrated the Brazilian civil service and how they increased their power over time, thus creating an illiberal alliance with the populist presidency. The article contributes to the debate about authoritarian populists in government and the perils of autocratization by identifying bureaucratic militarization as a particular mode of democratic backsliding to which young democracies appear especially vulnerable.