State Power Legitimacy in Brazilian Democracy

21 Pages Posted: 28 Feb 2015 Last revised: 21 Feb 2018

Date Written: 2013

Abstract

This article debates about resilience principle, imported for us to Law from Physics with the intention to equalize the relationship between State and Civil Society inside the Rule of Law, but not cloistered for it. We don’t use classical bibliography for this essay because it’s a new approach in legal area, nearing Law and Sociology. The resilience principle is, for us, a condition to establish a parameter for evaluating the quality of democracy in Brazil nowadays, once it’s a way to measure State power legitimacy, which one is measure, in its turn, by the quality of Citizenship. If the Citizens don’t have democratic access, they aren’t true Citizens. In fact, they will be Sub-citizens and the State won’t be legitimate. This equilibrium between this two subjects, State and Civil Society (Citizens), are imperative to democracy, mostly today, when the digital media could open new “doors” to facilitate such relationship. We can say that State legitimacy is deeply dependent on the level of popular participation in political decision making, which requires the Brazilian government – at all levels of federalism: federal, regional and local – appropriate preparation to achieve a viable equilibrium between the private interests and between them and collective interest; also between State and Civil Society. And, this kind of Citizens participation is increasingly becomes each day more dependent on digital forms of democracy. We have the challenge now: to make policies that include Subcitizens, to negotiate new public spaces to political interaction, to redefine “Law” considering Brazilian diversity. These three aspects are crucial to qualify Brazilian democracy today. Our dictatorial past will be overcome when Citizens can really practice political and legal interaction with authorities in an equality base as a respected subject in this relationship. And to make it happens State has to stop defending its outdated elements, like the excessive vertical use of power, the authoritarianism, the burocratic communication, the low educational level of the people (not just alphabetization, but mostly, the preparation to interact in a mediatic rationality), the few electoral connection among political representatives and their voters, the elitism, etc.. With this outdated elements interfering in social and political relations, resilience isn’t viable, what means that democracy with quality isn’t possible yet.

Keywords: Brazil, Citizenship, Democracy, Legimaticy, Resilience

JEL Classification: D7, I38, J18, K33, K42, N40, N46, O38, O39, Z00

Suggested Citation

Souza, Luciana, State Power Legitimacy in Brazilian Democracy (2013). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2570878 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2570878

Luciana Souza (Contact Author)

Milton Campos School of Law ( email )

230, Senador Milton Campos Street
Nova Lima, Minas Gerais 34000-000
Brazil
553132891900 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.mcampos.br

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