Abstract We focus here on a new theme among studies on the Social Sciences in Brazil, namely, the presence of social scientists in high-level office in the federal government, whether as directors or advisers. In general, studies on the social sciences in Brazil are devoted to examining the academic profile of their founders, the contents prioritized in the disciplines, processes of institutionalization and methodologies adopted, among other aspects. However, there has never been an examination of the place of the […]

Abstract This paper discusses the relationship between technological development and the weapons industry in Brazil, stressing the dependence of the latter on the former. It shows how changes in the arms trade have meant that the production of small arms for export is currently prioritized. The conclusion is that maintaining projects of this nature is only feasible by taking advantage of the remaining industrial base for dual-use production, i.e., to meet both civilian and military demand. Lastly, the possibility that […]

Abstract The article presents a comparison between some aspects of the socio-political theories of Auguste Comte and John Rawls. Its aim is to highlight certain elements that approximate and distance the two authors from one another in terms of political objectives and theoretical-methodological procedures, particularly on the basis of the Comtean perspective. The result is surprising: applying the mutatis mutandis methodological clause, i.e., considering the different socio-political contexts, there are more elements that approximate Rawls to Comte than elements that […]

Abstract Many observers have expressed concern that low voter turnout reflects an acute shortcoming in democratic politics. One proposed remedy, making voting compulsory, has garnered increasing attention among academics over recent years. Our article focuses on some of the technical properties of compulsory voting rules (CVR) while ignoring the philosophical debate over whether voting should be an obligation or a right. Using basic probability analysis, we compare a voluntary voting rule (VVR) to a compulsory one. We show that, under […]

Abstract This essay critically analyses how historical institutionalists and rational choice scholars study institutional stability and change. Special attention is paid to the thorny issue of how political actors’ preferences are formed, with historical institutionalists considering preferences as endogenously formed, and rational choice analysts postulating that preferences are fixed and exogenous. An argument is made in favour of the perspective that considers preferences as being formed within the functioning of the political system over time, endogenously. The essay also proposes […]

Multilateral Cooperation Although the essays constitute, in the author’s own words, a defence of multilateralism (p. 16), international multilateral cooperation is neither seen as a panacea, nor as easy to achieve. Hence the need to understand the limits and potentialities of multilateral institutions, especially of the UN System (p. 17), as well as how multilateral political will is formed (p. 49). On the question of multilateral political will, the author states that the greatest difficulty in consensus-building originates in the […]

The book Reforma da previdência em perspectiva comparada: Executivo, Legislativo e sindicatos na Argentina e no Brasil, originally a Ph.D. thesis, presents an analysis of trade unionism-government interaction in the pension system reform processes during the administrations of presidents Carlos Menem (1989-1999) of Argentina and Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995-2002) of Brazil. The author starts off from the following questions. To what extent can the trade union (TU) movement influence the course of pension system reform? Under what politico-institutional conditions is […]