Search results

Analyzes the interaction between the growth of democratic politics in Brazil & the evolution of judicial politics in the context of democratic institution-building, 1988-1996, drawing on a variety of evidence, including public opinion polls & court records. It is found that, as democracy has expanded in Brazil, so has the role of the judicial courts. However, the performance of the Supreme Court during this period is described as ambivalent, as it has both practiced judicial restraint & been politically assertive. Its political activity has taken place in the context of an increased public awareness of the judiciary's power, greater resort to the courts by political parties, & calls for judiciary reform to make it a less-autonomous institution. In this context, the court's assertiveness has not been a regular or sustained feature of its activiites, as it has traded token decisions & declarations to preserve its institutional autonomy. It is suggested that the attainment of political autonomy by the Supreme Court may represent its marginalization. 4 Tables, 2 Photographs, 17 References. Adapted from the source document.

This article discusses political transitions in Brazil in the context of globalization. It focuses on the political legacies that offered resistance to external processes & on the emergence of "new checks & balances" that constituted the relevant conditions for processes of political decision-making from the 1980s to 2002. It also shows that the management of economic policies, combined with the broader political process, was an important dimension of these political transitions. The article concludes by emphasizing the challenges that exist in the treatment of social issues & the connections between the domestic & the international agendas. 6 Tables, 3 Figures, 53 References. [Copyright 2003 Sage Publications Ltd.]