Violence and Democracy in Brazil

Presentation of a research project as part of the "Jeudis de la Maison Suger", a residents' research seminar.

This session will welcome Daniel Veloso Hirata for a presentation of his ongoing research on the case of Rio de Janeiro. He will analyze how the absence of democratic controls on the police promotes authoritarianism and weakens democratic institutions.

Presentation of the project

"This presentation focuses on the case of Rio de Janeiro to show that the absence of democratic oversight of police institutions has contributed to the rise of authoritarianism in Brazil. The hypothesis under examination is that lethal police actions play a significant role in the escalation of armed conflicts and the expansion of armed territorial control, rather than in crime prevention. We demonstrate that the use of force without accountability enables the privatisation of protection and the establishment of trust through violent and authoritarian mechanisms, to the detriment of democratic institutions. The presentation draws on quantitative and qualitative research conducted in recent years by the Study Group on New Forms of Illegality at Fluminense Federal University (GENI/UFF)."

Speaker

Daniel Veloso Hirata is a professor of sociology at the Department of Sociology at Fluminense Federal University, and coordinator of the Study Group on New Illegalities (GENI/UFF). He is a member of the National Council of Justice and the Human Rights Council of the Brazilian State, as well as an affiliated researcher at BrazilLab at Princeton University.