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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

1998

Series

International and Area Studies

Connecticut College

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Rethinking Clientelism: Demands, Discourses And Practices In Contemporary Brazil, Robert Gay Jan 1998

Rethinking Clientelism: Demands, Discourses And Practices In Contemporary Brazil, Robert Gay

Sociology Faculty Publications

It has been more than a decade since the Brazilian military relinquished its hold on the electoral process. Effective democratic governance has yet to be established, however. Traditional elites still dominate the scene, political parties remain weak, fragmented and unstable, and public administrations continue to pay lip-service to demands for citizens' rights. The source of these various problems of democratic governance is, by all accounts, the widespread practice of exchanging votes for favours, otherwise known as clientelism. In this essay, I argue that clientelism is an essential and endearing feature of the Brazilian political landscape. I also argue, however, that …