The Procedural Politicking Tug of War: Law-Versus-Management Disputes in Contexts of Democratic Backsliding

IF 2.7 Q2 PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Gabriela Spanghero Lotta, Iana Alves de Lima, Mariana Costa Silveira, Michelle Fernandez, João Paschoal Pedote, Olívia Landi Corrales Guaranha
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Abstract

Abstract The legitimacy of democracy and civil rights is based upon laws and administrative procedures. The presence of a legal framework and its application by bureaucrats in their daily decisions are prerequisites for the democratic rule of law. This explains why, in contexts of democratic backsliding, legal frameworks are under attack. Scholars observed the role of public administration in processes of democratic backsliding, but there is still a gap in understanding the disputes around the legal framework. Here, we analyze the conflicts between politicians and bureaucrats around the legal framework in a context of democratic backsliding. Analyzing the case of Brazil under Bolsonaro’s Government, we draw on 164 interviews with bureaucrats to understand how both bureaucrats and politicians dispute the legitimacy, uses, and interpretations of the legal framework to attack or protect democratic institutions and civil rights. On one side, bureaucrats defend themselves and their legitimacy through existing rules and procedures. On the other side, politicians change or reinterpret the rules to fragilize bureaucrats’ decisions. In this process, both politicians and bureaucrats learn how to improve their strategies around the uses of legal frameworks. These findings contribute to understanding how the dynamics around the legal framework explain processes of democratic backsliding.
程序性政治拉锯战:民主倒退背景下的法律与管理之争
民主和公民权利的合法性建立在法律和行政程序的基础之上。法律框架的存在及其在官僚日常决策中的应用是民主法治的先决条件。这就解释了为什么在民主倒退的背景下,法律框架受到攻击。学者们观察到公共行政在民主倒退过程中的作用,但在理解围绕法律框架的争议方面仍然存在差距。在这里,我们分析了在民主倒退的背景下,政治家和官僚之间围绕法律框架的冲突。通过对博尔索纳罗政府领导下的巴西进行分析,我们对164名官僚进行了采访,以了解官僚和政客如何对法律框架的合法性、使用和解释提出质疑,以攻击或保护民主制度和公民权利。一方面,官僚们通过现有的规则和程序来捍卫自己和自己的合法性。另一方面,政客们改变或重新解释规则,使官僚们的决定变得脆弱。在这个过程中,政治家和官僚都学会了如何围绕法律框架的使用来改进他们的策略。这些发现有助于理解围绕法律框架的动态如何解释民主倒退的过程。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
5.30
自引率
6.20%
发文量
28
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