May 2021 Conference
King’s College London’s Brazil Institute and its partners held an online conference on May 27th and 28th, 2021, examining how Brazil’s military has come to hold such a contentious position within the country’s socio-political history and how this can help us advance the fields of civil, military and political relations.
Military involvement in Brazilian politics dates back to the origins of the Brazilian Republic itself. As academia and civil society are beginning to question the implications of these levels of ever-increasing militarization within a democracy, the different panels of our conference discussed the Brazilian military in historical perspective, the Brazilian military in the social imaginary, institutions, domestic, and foreign policy, and critical methodological approaches. On the second day of the conference, we held a series of parallel discussion rooms open to audience participation.
PROGRAMME
Day 1: Thursday 27th May 2021
16.20-17.05 - Opening keynote presentation by Professor Risa Brookes (University of Marquette)
We were absolutely honoured to invite the wonderful Prof. Risa Brooks - a leading scholar in Military Studies - to deliver the opening keynote to our conference.
As an expert on the US, Risa faced the somewhat unusual challenge of addressing a room full of people ready to discuss Brazil. But we were keen to invite Risa as someone who could address our questions about Brazil from a more holistic, theoretical, and conceptual perspective. Indeed, her provocative presentation both challenged assumptions and provided fascinating new concepts with which to look at Brazil and think about its relevance to other countries of the Global South.
Click here to learn more about Risa and to view publications relevant to the conference theme.
17.15-18.00 - Panel 1A- Historical Perspectives: The Impacts and Legacies of WWII
Rafael Bonato, Institute Meira Mattos - “Analysis of the political role of the Brazilian Army during the first Vargas administration (1930-1945).” - draft paper PDF
Dennison de Oliveira, Federal University of Paraná - “The Brazilian Army, nation building and the Vargas dictatorship (1937-1945).” - draft paper PDF
Francisco Cesar Alves Ferraz, State University of Londrina - “The political consequences of Brazilian participation in the Second World War: the overthrow of Getúlio Vargas as an exemplary case.” - draft paper PDF
Jorel Lemes, Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais - “A walk-on part in the War: the sidelining of the Italian Campaign and its impact on the historiography of the FEB and their Allies.”
17.15-18.00 - Panel 1B - Historical Perspectives: Military Projects for State and Society
Alessandra Beber Castilho, King’s College London and University of São Paulo - “Diplomats and soldiers in Cold War Brazil: Brazilian diplomats at the Superior War College (1949-1964).” - draft paper PDF
Benjamin Correa, Open University of Portugal - “Citizen-Soldier: Positivism as a military doctrine in the Brazilian Army and its influence in 1964.” - draft paper PDF
Enio Viterbo Martins, University of Lisbon - “Homeland Security by the Brazilian military: are political opponents internal enemies?” - draft paper PDF
Leandro Liberali, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - “Notes on the Geisel government: the bases of the political distension of the Brazilian civil-military dictatorship.”
18:10 - 19:10 - Panel 2: Critical Approaches to Understanding the Military
Tabita Marquete Andrade, Federal University of Pampa - “Women's participation in the armed forces and civilian positions: a gender perspective.” - draft paper PDF
Marcelo Bordin, University Centre Curítiba - “The hypermilitarization of politics in Brazil.” - draft paper PDF
Ned Littlefield, University of Wisconsin-Madison - “Delegitimise to demilitarise? Civilian control of the Federal Intervention in Rio de Janeiro.” - draft paper PDF
Plínio Cardoso dos Santos, Leiden University - “Military involvement in electoral disputes as a factor of political instability in Brazil.”
Day 2: Friday 28th May 2021
16:20-17:05 - Panel 3A: Conceptualising the Brazilian Military in the Social Imaginary
Hermes de Andrade Júnior, University of Vigo (Doctorate CREA S2i), Spain and Research Center of the Military University Institute (CIDIUM / IUM), Portugal - “The Anthropocene and civil-military relations in the Brazilian Amazon.” - draft paper PDF
Claudete de Castro Silva Vitte & Gustavo Glodes Blum, State University of Campinas - “Heirs of a(n) (e)state: Brazilian territorial integrity in selected works that may influence recent military-political involvement in Brazil.” - draft paper PDF
Leandro Gomes Moreira Cruz, Federal University of Fronteira Sul - “The RADAM Project: technoscience, environment and the Brazilian dictatorship (1964-1975).”
Adriane Piovezan, ABEC - Brazilian Association of Cemeteries Studies - “The dead in armed conflicts and military memory in Brazil (1935-2020).” - draft paper PDF
16.20-17.05 - Panel 3B: Conceptualising the Brazilian Military in the Social Imaginary
Bruno de Seixas Carvalho, Brazilian Naval War College - “Civil-Military relations in the Brazilian Navy: ontological security and self-identity.” - draft paper PDF
Carlos Eduardo Pereira Viana, Federal Fluminense University - “Reaffirming identities: demands for recognition and 'respect' in the Civil Guard and Municipal Civil Guard.” - draft paper PDF
Caio Marcondes Ribeiro Barbosa, University of São Paulo - “The military as a moderating power: a study with Bolsonaro supporters in São Paulo.” - draft paper PDF
Rosa Ricoy, University of Vigo - “The military, gender and politics: a political and historical review between Brazil and Spain.”
17:15-18:00 - Panel 4 - Military Institutions, Domestic and Foreign Policy
Peterson Ferreira da Silva, Brazilian War College and Augusto Teixeira Júnior, Federal University of Paraíba - “The relationship between defence policy, defence budget and force structure in contemporary Brazil.” - draft paper PDF
Mariana Kalil, Brazilian War College, Thiago Rodrigues, Fluminense National University, and Maíra Fedatto, Kids Operating Room - “Militarisation without securitisation: democratic backsliding and the military management of the COVID-19 crisis in Brazil.”
Maíra Siman Gomes, Manuela Trindade Viana and Victoria Santos, Pontifical University of Rio de Janeiro - “Pandemic expertise: the managerial face of the Brazilian military in COVID-19 operations and its effects on the civil-military divide.”.
Letícia Tostes Ortega, University of Bern - “Defining Brazilian nuclear intermestic policy: the role of the military.” - draft paper PDF
Conference schedule: PDF.
This was a collaborative project involving members of the following organisations
This conference was sponsored by SSPP Faculty Research Fund 2020, King’s Global Engagement Partnership Fund, and the War Studies Research Fellowship Scheme.