New Ways of Democracy: An analysis of the role of the State in the Brazilian Participatory Institutions of Social Assistance

• In Event: Participatory Institutions

Abstract

Considering the importance of the Participatory Institutions (IPs) for the consolidation and the progress of the Brazilian Participatory Democracy, this paper aims to analyze the role of state actors in this participatory process, composed by the interaction between the State and the Civil Society within those institutions. Thus, the research involves the analysis of the influence of the state actors in the discussion process for the implementation of social demands in the public policies from the Social Assistance sphere.

This paper understands the importance of the Brazilian Social Assistance within the country and worldwide, combined with the urgency of an expanded democracy for the inclusion of a plural society in the decision-making process. Having said that, the Brazilian Participatory Institutions are an innovative example of social inclusion and, for this instance, they should be closely observed and monitored.

The research and objective of this paper are based on the idea that the active participation of the State in the participatory process is extremely necessary for the effective functioning of those institutions and, more importantly, the consolidation of the participatory democracy into politics, narrowing the gap between the society and the political process. Therefore, without the interaction among actors from the State and Civil Society, those institutions can be seen as inefficient and, maybe, pointless.

Author

• Gabriella T Kashiwakura, Universidade de Brasília