Dias, V. M., & Schapiro, M. G. (2026). Resisting democratic backsliding from within the state: Environmental politics in Bolsonaro’s Brazil. Policy Studies Journal. https://doi.org/10.1111/psj.70101 The article argues that polycentric governance can enable meaningful resistance to …
Brazil
Kapiszewski (2011). “Tactical balancing: High court decision making on politically crucial cases.”
Kapiszewski, D. (2011). Tactical balancing: High court decision making on politically crucial cases. Law & Society Review, 45(2), 471-506. This article advances a new account of judicial behavior: the thesis of tactical balancing. Building on existing models …
Aguiar Aguilar (2012). “Institutional changes in the public prosecutor’s office: The cases of Mexico, Chile and Brazil”
Aguilar, A. (2012). Institutional changes in the public prosecutor’s office: The cases of Mexico, Chile and Brazil. Mexican law review, 4(2), 261-290. Given the critical role played by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in the criminal …
US hits Brazilian judge’s wife with sanctions as Trump showdown deepens
The Trump administration has escalated tensions with Brazil by sanctioning Viviane Barci de Moraes, wife of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the criminal case against Jair Bolsonaro. The U.S. also revoked visas …
de Sa e Silva (2020), “From Car Wash to Bolsonaro: Law and Lawyers in Brazil’s Illiberal Turn (2014–2018)”
de Sa e Silva, F. (2020). From Car Wash to Bolsonaro: Law and lawyers in Brazil’s illiberal turn (2014–2018). Journal of Law and Society, 47(S1), S51–S73. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12250 The article examines the role of law and …
Kyle, Reiter (2021), “Military Courts, Civil-Military Relations, and the Legal Battle for Democracy: The Politics of Military Justice (1st ed.)”
B.J. Kyle, A.G. Reiter, Military Courts, Civil-Military Relations, and the Legal Battle for Democracy: The Politics of Military Justice (1st ed.). London: Routledge, 2021. Summary: The interaction between military and civilian courts, the political power that …
Dias (2025), “Rule by Law in Democratic Regimes: How Legal Actors Undermined Democracy in Brazil.”
Vitor Martins Dias, “Rule by Law in Democratic Regimes: How Legal Actors Undermined Democracy in Brazil.” March 19, 2025. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=5185132 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5185132 Summary: This article analyzes how prosecutors, judges, and police officers coordinated …
Pereira (2003), “Explaining Judicial Reform Outcomes in New Democracies: The Importance of Authoritarian Legalism in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile”
This article investigates how the legacies of authoritarian legal systems influence the capacity of attorneys to drive judicial reform in emerging democracies, with case studies from Chile, Argentina, and Brazil.
US sanctions Brazil’s Supreme Court justice overseeing case against Bolsonaro
On July 30, 2025, the U.S. Treasury sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, citing human rights abuses and political persecution in the case against former President Jair Bolsonaro. De Moraes, who is overseeing …
Pereira (2008), “Of Judges and Generals: Security Courts under Authoritarian Regimes in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile”
Anthony W Pereira. “Of Judges and Generals: Security Courts under Authoritarian Regimes in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile,” In Rule by Law: The Politics of Courts in Authoritarian Regimes. Edited by Tom Ginsburg and Tamir Moustafa, …