Presidentialism and Civil-Military Relations

“Essential for sustained democratic rule are the de-politicization of the armed forces and their subordination to democratically elected civilians in government. It is therefore curious that so little scholarship has been dedicated to understanding the role of the military after democracy’s return to Latin America. This lacuna is especially notable given the recent expansion of military roles and the militarization of cabinets across various Latin American countries. In their impressively researched and persuasively argued book, Octavio Amorim Neto and Igor Acácio address this gap in the literature. While their focal point is Brazil, most specifi cally the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022), the analyses they undertake and the lessons they draw extend well beyond Brazil to include even the United States under Donald Trump. A crucial comparative phenomenon the authors put into prominence concerns the militarization of cabinets under recent presidents. As they convincingly explain and illustrate, the nature of presidential power allows extremist presidents (much more than prime ministers) to leverage centralized control and direct appointment powers. The institutional analysis they undertake includes trying to understand why ministries of defense in Latin America have remained so dominated by militaries and why legislatures have continued to take a backseat to presidents when it comes to civil-military matters. Further contributions of value made by the authors include the quantitative measures they assemble on matters beyond cabinet militarization to include military spending and personnel structure. Scholars of presidentialism, civil-military relations, and of democratic consolidation and backsliding would benefi t enormously from reading Presidentialism and Civil-Military Relations: Brazil in Comparative Perspective .”

—Wendy Hunter, Professor of Government, University of Texas, Austin, USA

In an era of resurgent military political activism, this volume examines the cross-national drivers of cabinet militarization in democratic regimes, and provides an in-depth study of its causes and consequences in Brazil.

Octavio Amorim Neto is a Professor of Political Science at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Igor Acácio is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at California State University, Fullerton, USA.