Braz. political sci. rev.2023;17(2):e0002.
The Fight against Corruption in Brazil: more than Politicians on Trial
DOI: 10.1590/1981-3821202300020007
(Da Ros, Luciano and Taylor, Matthew M. Brazilian Politics on Trial: Corruption Reform under Democracy. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2022)
The crisis of liberal democracies is perhaps the main topic in political science in this century. Its relevance goes beyond the boundaries of academia, as attested by the number of books on authoritarianism and democratic backsliding making their way onto bestseller lists. Brazil can undoubtedly be included as a case study representative of this process in which democratic institutions are being eroded. And any analysis of this topic for the Brazilian case should involve an effort to analytically understand the role played by the major nationwide operation named ‘Lava Jato’ in controlling corruption at the country’s high ranks – to then make progress in establishing an appreciated dialogue between two bodies of literature: accountability and judicial politics. The book ‘Brazilian Politics on Trial’, by Luciano da Ros and Matthew Taylor (2022), takes an important step in this direction mainly because, although the book is centered on the accountability literature, it makes the theme of corruption more complex by bringing politics into the analysis, the politics around anti-corruption policies and the activities of accountability institutions, whose effects have repercussions on politics and the workings of democracy.
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