When trade liberalization turns into regulatory reform: The impact on business–government relations in international trade politics

Business–government relations on trade issues are generally characterized as protectionist lobbying or – less often – lobbying for the liberalization of markets. However, with the evolution of the trading system, negotiations today concern not just market opening, but also the regulatory frameworks that structure international trade. This transformation has important consequences for the ways in which private interests can contribute to trade negotiations. Instead of simply trying to exert pressure, businesses and other private actors now form working relationships with governments based on expertise, learning, and information exchange. This article illustrates these new forms of public–private interactions with examples from the USA, the European Union, and Brazil.     

Donors in transition and the future of development cooperation: What do the data from Brazil,India, China,and South Africa reveal?

How are Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors evolving their financial flows and aid modalities in response to the growing influence and economic power of Southern BRICS? After presenting the shifting landscape of international development cooperation, we explore five hypotheses about the changing nature of DAC aid allocation patterns and modalities in BRICS countries. In our conclusion, we reflect on the evolution of DAC engagement in Brazil, China, India, and South Africa (BASIC countries) and what it might mean for all official donors. Our assessment is that the changing geopolitical environment for development cooperation is once again privileging economic diplomacy concerns within DAC donors, propelling specific kinds of decisions about the choice of instruments, sectors, and modalities in BASIC countries. It would appear that the administrative practice of foreign aid is increasingly derived from changes within the institutional environment for international development.     

‘Fighting for the Right’: A Functionalist Oral-History Analysis of Conservative Brazilian Women from the Military Dictatorship (1964–1985) to Jair Bolsonaro's Presidency (2018–)

Conservative women in Brazil played a significant role in the 1964 military coup and Bolsonaro's 2018 election victory. Oral history interviews with conservative women who experienced these two significant political events indicate that they both occurred in a climate of heightened anxiety and anti-modern moral panic, where social order and traditional structures such as the family and the church were perceived to be under threat from feminism and Marxism. Although it is somewhat disregarded in contemporary studies, this article argues that functionalist ideology, which upholds the sanctity of the traditional family, serves to explain why Brazilian conservative women continue to fervently support the patriarchal status quo.     

Genetics and Racial Difference in Contemporary Brazil: Haemoglobinopathies,Whiteness and Admixture in Biomedical Literature

The historical role of biomedicine in shaping and legitimising ideas of race in Brazil has long been documented. Much less discussed, however, is how contemporary biomedicine helps recreate notions of race. In this article I explore some of the uses of race, and particularly whiteness, in current biomedical research, using as a case study articles published on the prevalence of haemoglobinopathies, including sickle cell anaemia and β‐Thalassaemia. One can only properly understand how race features in these texts by pointing to the links between ideas about admixture and purity, existing historical discourses about difference and Nation and new genetic knowledge.     

巴西乡村发展政策法规特征研究

巴西是拉丁美洲面积最大的国家,近年来经济发展迅猛,已经成为“金砖四国”之一,其国内的政治、经济、法律制度日益引起国际社会的广泛关注。巴西在乡村发展方面所制定的政策和法规,为巴西乡村社会的发展起到了指引和规范作用。我国的乡村发展模式与巴西有所不同,我国在乡村发展法制建设方面应特别关注农村地区土地兼并问题,应通过集约化经营和统分结合的双层经营体制,来保证我国乡村地区社会和经济发展的稳定性。     

Mitochondrial DNA control region polymorphism in the population of Alagoas state, north-eastern Brazil

The sequences of the two hypervariable (HV) segments of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region were determined in 167 randomly selected, unrelated individuals living in the state of Alagoas, north-eastern Brazil. One hundred and forty-five different haplotypes, associated with 139 variable positions, were determined. More than 95% of the mtDNA sequences could be allocated to specific mtDNA haplogroups according to the mutational motifs. Length heteroplasmy in the C-stretch HV1 and HV2 regions was observed in 22 and 11%, respectively, of the population sample. The genetic diversity was estimated to be 0.9975 and the probability of two random individuals presenting identical mtDNA haplotypes was 0.0084. The most frequent haplotype was shared by six individuals. All sequences showed high-quality values and phantom mutations were not detected. The diversity revealed in the mitochondrial control region indicates the importance of this locus for forensic casework and population studies within Alagoas, Brazil.     

Random votes under compulsory voting: Evidence from Brazil

Compulsory voting is known for boosting electoral turnout, even when sanctions for abstaining are small or loosely enforced. Much less is known, however, about the consequences of compulsory voting on vote choice, and, in particular, about the quality of electoral decisions. In this paper, we explore the extent to which voters meaningfully engage in the electoral process or simply vote randomly because voting is required by law. We conducted a large online survey in Brazil during the 2018 national elections to assess if voters engage in random voting. We evaluate random voting for low-profile, low-information elected offices (state and federal legislators) and others that receive greater media coverage (governor and president) and evaluate the determinants of random voting for each of them. We find that: 1) random voting does not appear to be affected by social desirability bias; 2) there is substantial random voting under compulsory voting; 3) more voters tend to engage in random voting in low-profile, low-information elections, as compared to elections that receive greater media coverage; and, 4) interest in politics, education, and disposition to vote if voting were to be voluntary reduce random voting. Our findings carry important implications for the study of citizen participation and civic competence under compulsory voting and for democratic representation, more broadly.     

Capable,splendorous and unequal: international media portrayals of Brazil during the 2014 World Cup

This article examines how Brazil was perceived internationally during the 2014 World Cup (2014WC), for which one of Brazil’s perceived objectives was to enhance its international image to play a more significant role on the world stage. Nine media outlets’ coverage of the 2014WC was analysed using the website Alexa. These outlets published 699 articles about diverse themes relating to Brazilian society. The outlets studied considered the event a success overall and emphasised Brazil’s natural beauty, but raised concerns about social problems such as inequality. We conclude that the 2014WC updated but did not fundamentally alter Brazil’s international image.     

Necropolitics in the Jungle: COVID-19 and the Marginalisation of Brazil's Forest Peoples

COVID-19 has been particularly damaging to already vulnerable social groups, such as forest peoples. In Brazil, indigenous, Afro-Brazilian quilombolas and other racialised communities have suffered disproportionately under Bolsonaro's hands-off policy during the pandemic. We argue that, far from happenstance, this policy fits into a form of necropolitics towards forest peoples. Drawing from Achille Mbembe's seminal work, this article analyses how underlying (and sometimes overt) racism, cultural depredation, and government-supported deforestation constitute an assault now catalysed by the pandemic. Understanding forest peoples' disproportionate deaths in perspective is critical for addressing their growing vulnerability and the broader politics currently at play.     

Engaging the Brazilian state: the Belo Monte dam and the struggle for political voice

This contribution uses the case of Brazil's largest infrastructure project, the Belo Monte hydroelectric facility, to examine the challenges and opportunities for resistance and claims-making in the face of contemporary development projects. It shows that the confluence of the privatized nature of hydroelectric projects and the government's purported commitment to democratic, participatory development has impacts. I argue that this context, on the one hand, contributes to the fracturing of civil society. On the other hand, it presents opportunities for the creation of surprising alliances among diverse resistance groups and the state. I further argue that direct acts of resistance in this context can encourage the state to work for the public good.