THINKING ABOUT BRAZILIAN DEMOCRACY FROM CONCEPTIONS OF POLITICAL THEORY

Abstract

This work is part of a bibliographical reflection carried out in the doctoral studies of Sociology in the Special Topics of Political Science class, whose main focus is the discussion of classical and contemporary texts of political science thinkers. In this sense, it is a bibliographic analysis that aims to discuss the main concepts of democracy and relate them to Brazilian political reality. To this end, we emphasize the need to first contextualize the process of consolidation of democracy in Brazil through studies of Brazilian thinkers who provided new interpretations about the evolution of this process and presented elements that can serve as a basis for understanding how this link actually asserted itself and was surrounded by contradictions and inconsistencies. In this regard, the contributions of Renato Ortiz, Florestan Fernandes, José Álvaro Moisés and Gabriel de Santis Feltran stand out. In a second step, the concepts of democracy of Schumpeter (1883-1950), Michels (1876-1936) and Dahl (1915-2014) are presented and related to the model of democracy introduced in Brazil. It is assumed that the concepts presented are still relevant to reflect on contemporary politics - as it has taken place in practice - to gain new insights into the role of democracy in Brazil and in the world.