Federalism and confederate stances in the political speech of independent Brazil: the concepts in the writings of Frei Caneca

Abstract: This study analyses the understanding of federation and confederation that can be seized from the writings of Frei Caneca, produced during the independence process of Brazil and the beginning of the First Reign. These terms were used interchangeably in the period and spanned with the same intensity different political notions that were juxtaposed at the time, involving the sovereignty of a developing national state and the emphases on how provincial autonomy was considered. The Federalist Papers, a classical work for the notional understanding of the liberal state's formation in its federative dimension, will be used as a theoretical counterpoint to this debate

A cidadania sob o signo do desvio: Para uma crítica da "tese de excepcionalidade brasileira"

O propósito central do artigo consiste em realizar uma consideração crítica do que denominamos de "tese da excepcionalidade normativa brasileira". As duas principais questões orientadoras são: em primeiro lugar, haveria alguma desvantagem, do ponto de vista analítico, em manter-se orientado pela noção conforme a qual a experiência da cidadania no Brasil é algo particular em relação ao "centro da modernidade"? Em segundo lugar, é possível vislumbrar outra maneira profícua de refletir a respeito da experiência da cidadania no Brasil para além da "tese da excepcionalidade normativa"?<br>This article aims at carrying out a critique of the so-called "thesis of the Brazilian normative exceptionality". The two driving questions are: first and foremost, is there any disadvantage, from an analytical point of view, in remaining oriented by the notion according to which the experience of citizenship in Brazil is something peculiar as compared to the "nucleus of modernity"? Secondly, is it possible to envisage another fruitful way of framing such an experience which goes beyond the "exceptionality thesis"