Banca de DEFESA: Ingrid Cunha Dantas

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : Ingrid Cunha Dantas
DATE: 23/06/2025
TIME: 08:30
LOCAL: a determinas
TITLE:

 THE STF AND ILLIBERALISM: Institutional Designs and Judicial Strategies of Democratic Resistance

KEY WORDS:

constitutional courts; illiberalism; institutional designs; democratic resistance.

PAGES: 250
BIG AREA: Ciências Sociais Aplicadas
AREA: Direito
SUMMARY:

In the 21st century, countries around the world have witnessed the rise of leaders who, once elected, steered their political practices toward the weakening of liberal democracy and constitutional identity. Viktor Orbán (Hungary), Vladimir Putin (Russia), Donald Trump (United States), and Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil) are among the exponents of this emerging ideology, known as illiberalism, which reconfigures elements of authoritarianism to subtly and opportunistically erode the foundational principles of political liberalism—democratic institutions and the fundamental rights of minorities. Although each national context presents specific particularities, illiberalism is structured as a transnational movement whose ideological core unites leaders who, despite geographical distance, converge in their defense of unrestricted popular sovereignty and conceptions of an ethno-nationalist, anti-individualist, and anti-pluralist common good. In Brazil, unlike in other cases, this phenomenon was, at least in the short term, contained through democratic resistance articulated by institutions, political actors, and sectors of civil society. Against this backdrop, this doctoral research adopts an interdisciplinary approach, integrating Comparative Constitutional Law and Political Science to examine the role of constitutional courts in illiberal regimes, with a particular focus on Brazil. Its main objective is to formulate normative proposals for institutional design that incorporate the strategic behavior of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) while simultaneously curbing excesses resulting from its politicization. The relevance of this study becomes even more pronounced in light of the institutional tensions driven by the rise of bolsonarism, a context in which the strategic actions of the Court and the preservation of its autonomy have proven essential to the defense of Brazilian democracy. The analysis begins with a literature review on the legitimacy of constitutional adjudication, models of judicial behavior, and the conceptual and practical boundaries of illiberalism. It then moves toward a factual investigation of the responses of constitutional courts - and the Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF), in particular - to illiberal politics, which guides its secondary objectives. The intersection between theoretical frameworks and empirical methodologies provides a foundation for the development of normative proposals for constitutional design, while also opening avenues for future research on the challenges of judicial action under illiberal regimes. In this way, the study stands out by establishing theoretical and normative foundations to confront threats to democracy, both now and in the future.

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Externo à Instituição - JESSICA HIND RIBEIRO COSTA - UCSAL
Externo à Instituição - EMÍLIO PELUSO NEDER MEYER - UFMG
Presidente - 2492387 - JULIANO ZAIDEN BENVINDO
Externo ao Programa - 1128760 - MIGUEL GUALANO DE GODOY - nullExterna à Instituição - VERA KARAM DE CHUEIRI - UFPR