Towards a New Law and Development: New State Activism in Brazil and the Challenge for Legal Institutions

This article explores the emergence of a new developmental state in Brazil and its significance for law and development theory. Emerging forms of state activism in Brazil since 2000, including a new industrial policy and a robust social policy, differ from both classic developmental state and neoliberal approaches. They favor both a strong state and a strong market, employ public-private partnerships, seek to reduce inequality, and embrace the global economy. Case studies of state activism and law in Brazil show new roles emerging for legal institutions which must perform new functions. The emerging new developmental state seeks to maintain policy and rule flexibility, orchestrate relations among public actors and between them and the private sector, create conditions that will maximize synergy between actors, and preserve the legitimacy of government interventions. This generates four new roles for the legal system: (i) safeguarding flexibility, (ii) stimulating orchestration, (iii) framing synergy, and (iv) ensuring legitimacy.