Legislature of Brazil
This book develops a critical analysis of the Brazilian legislature, specifically the role of its lower chamber, the Chamber of Deputies, in policy making and how this combines with its public engagement role, namely in terms of promoting participation and transparency. The book draws from Nelson Polsby’s theoretical conceptualization about transformative and arena legislatures. The purpose is not to reach a consensus about the exact categorisation of the legislature in Polsby’s classification. On the contrary, the chapters are mainly concerned in challenging this classification through interdisciplinary perspectives drawn from within the legislative studies in Brazil.
The book’s first chapters introduce the reader to an historical overview of the Brazilian legislature’s policy making and organization, identifying its role in proposing public policies and scrutinising proposals from the Executive Branch. The subsequent chapters focus on its public engagement role and address contemporary elements – such as political participation and transparency – and how these interlink, or not, with legislative practices and influence the production of law. The book provides a unique insight into the operation and power of the legislature of a key global power, Brazil, in a presidential political system context. The chapters originally published as a special issue in the Journal of Legislative Studies.
Cristiane Brum Bernardes gained her PhD in Political Science (2010) at the Institute of Social and Political Studies (IESP), University of State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil. She also has a Master's in Communication and Information from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) (2004). Cristiane is Senior Lecturer at Master in Legislative Affairs of Brazilian Chamber of Deputies.
Cristina Leston-Bandeira is Professor of Politics, University of Leeds, UK. She is also co-convenor of the Parliaments and Legislatures Specialist Group of the Political Studies Association and editor of Parliaments and Citizens (Routledge, 2013).
Ricardo de João Braga gained his PhD in Political Science (2011) from the University of State of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ), Brazil. He is Senior Lecturer at Master in Legislative Affairs of Brazilian Chamber of Deputies. Previously, he worked for party leaderships in the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies and for the Executive Branch.