Having conducted a number of research projects concerning different aspects of Brazilian civil socie...
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Having conducted a number of research projects concerning different aspects of Brazilian civil society, education reform, and political participation, Reiter (political science, U. of South Florida) came to recognize a common theme: "Extreme inequality and the pervasive attempts of historically included sectors to perpetuate and defend their inherited privilege seemed to be responsible not only for a civil society that fell short of its democratizing potential but also for faltering school reform, and unsuccessful attempts of citizen participation in local governance." Following a brief discussion of the current state of Brazilian democracy and the historical roots of inclusion/exclusion from the early 19th century onwards, he presents his core material, the results of research into inequality and education in Salvador in the state of Bahia, the reproduction of inclusion/exclusion through the practice of employing domestic servants, the reproduction of paternalistic and racist practices within Bahian non-governmental organizations, and the negative impact of inequality on efforts to encourage popular participation in policy- making. Finally, he presents a historical analysis of the Brazilian elite political class and summarizes his findings and conclusions. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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