“Across continents, people grow weary of politics, technocrats present themselves as saviours who promise to bypass democratic messiness, and strongmen rise by claiming that only they can 'fix' the state – by force, by managerial efficiency, or by moral cleansing.”

“Democracy on a Tightrope emerged from observing this dynamic inside the Brazilian state.”

“Brazil’s democratic experience since the 1988 constitution provides a vivid illustration of this complexity.”

“The most prestigious bureaucratic careers in Brazil are overwhelmingly occupied by white, upper-middle-class men from a narrow set of regions.”

“When the government debated the Access to Information Law, parts of the bureaucracy resisted transparency by invoking the notion that they – and not society – embodied the true state.”

“The Dry Law, which significantly reduced traffic deaths, was born from listening to frontline public servants, grounding choices in empirical evidence, and crafting policy solutions that could survive political scrutiny.”

“The Internet Bill of Rights emerged from an unprecedented collaborative online drafting process that invited civil society, specialists, companies and public officials into a single debate.”

“Bureaucratic neutrality, as often imagined, is neither neutral nor universal. It tends to reproduce the worldview of those who dominate positions of power: disproportionately male, white and privileged.”

“The Dry Law, which significantly reduced traffic deaths, was born from listening to frontline public servants, grounding choices in empirical evidence, and crafting policy solutions that could survive political scrutiny.”

“Democracy on a Tightrope: Politics and Bureaucracy in Brazil explores the complex relationship between politics and bureaucracy in Brazil’s democratic development since the 1988 Constitution.”