Civil-Military Relations and Democratic Recession in the Third Wave Democracies
Explaining the Multidimensional Militarization in Brazil
##article.authors##
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Shuichiro Masukata
Faculty of law, Keio University
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9826-6349
https://researchmap.jp/read0154105
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51094/jxiv.1375Keywords:
democratic recession, civil-military relations, militarization, third-wave democracies, BrazilAbstract
This study aims to identify how civil-military relations affect a democratic recession in Third-Wave
Democracies. Multiple problems have been pointed out in previous studies. First, the role of the
military during a democratic recession, breakdown, and militarization are not adequately classified.
Second, the potential weakening of civilian control during a democratic recession has not been
adequately examined. Third, the scope of the analysis of militarization has mainly focused on political
aspects. This paper especially looks at Brazil, one of the 19 countries that were once under military
rule and where the military does not openly take control of political power, although there are signs
that democracy has been undermined. By examining changes in civil-military relations, it evaluates
whether militarization accelerated, especially during Brazil's democratic recession. The implications
derived from this analysis differ from the simplistic view that civilian control remained stable despite
Brazil's experience of a democratic recession. First, the socio-political context and civilian agency are
crucial for explaining why civilian control is incomplete in civil-military relations in third-wave
democracies. Second, the military's influence could increase as democracy was weakened by the
emergence of a president with a military background. Third, militarization involves the
interconnectedness of different material, political, and social dimensions of the military's role.
Conflicts of Interest Disclosure
The author declare no conflicts of interest regarding this manuscript.Downloads *Displays the aggregated results up to the previous day.
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Published: 2025-07-11 09:26:43 UTC
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