Political Science Commons^™

Contracting, Contesting, And Co-Optation: Civil Society Organizations’ Strategies Under New Institutional Arrangements In Brazil, Brian Wampler, Michael Touchton

Political Science Faculty Publications and Presentations

Civil society has exploded in Latin America as democratization has continued over the last 30 years. Civil society organizations (CSOs) are thought to improve governance and oversight and to increase social capital. Nonetheless, we have limited knowledge about what motivates CSOs’ political strategies, which include participating in formal political institutions, attending demonstrations, and providing services. We build knowledge here by evaluating data from a unique survey of nine hundred CSOs across seven Brazilian cities. Our findings showcase several parallel processes: poorer CSOs continue to rely on the state and actively participate in political processes despite protesting at greater rates than …