The Fourth Republic and the practicing of democracy in Brazil, 1930-1968

Thesis

This thesis offers a study of the Fourth Republic (1945-64), its origins, the nature and functioning of its democratic institutions, and its demise during the Cold War within the wider context of the history of democracy in Brazil. It shows that the Fourth Republic was built upon historical legacies and a compromise of competing conceptualizations of democracy as forwarded by leading contemporary political actors. The latter are central to the developments analyzed here, as the thesis examines the extent to which the manifested beliefs and behaviors of leading political actors shaped, enhanced and undermined the process of democratization during the existence of this regime. While firmly grounded in the history discipline, it dialogues with key works from the social sciences, particularly in the identification of conceptual tools to guide the enquiry. Furthermore, the thesis places the Brazilian case in the global context, in an effort to expand the historical study of democracy into the neglected post-war period. This thesis is organized into three parts and six chronological chapters, preceded by an introduction. Part I traces the origins of the Fourth Republic starting with the 1930 Revolution until 1945. Part II looks at the creation and functioning of the Fourth Republic itself up until 1961. Finally, Part III examines the demise of the regime and the consolidation of the military dictatorship that was complete by 1968. I close the thesis with some concluding reflections.

Authors: Madison, J

• DOI: 10.5287/ora-r51b89dor
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Keywords: Cold War; history of democracy; history; 20th century; democratization; Brazil; polarization; World War II; democracy; political science; Interdisciplinary; Brasil
• Subjects: Democracy; Democratization; Polarization (Social sciences); World War, 1939-1945; Cold War