QoG lunch seminar with Gabriela Lotta

Abstract: Many countries around the world are experiencing democratic backsliding and a rise in illiberalism. Scholars have shown that these processes often involve increased attacks on and control over public administration and the bureaucracy, as bureaucrats serve as key safeguards of democratic institutions. Understanding the relationships and dynamics between bureaucrats and politicians during periods of democratic backsliding is essential to grasp how democratic institutions function and how they can be strengthened. Based on six years of research on the relationship between bureaucrats and politicians during a period of democratic backsliding in Brazil, the presentation will explore the main dynamics of this relationship—including strategies of political control and bureaucratic resistance, the learning processes involved, and the micro-level dynamics that enabled the gradual expansion of political control and erosion of democracy over time.