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Papers by Marina Grego
This essay analyzes the causes for the downfall of the Weimar Republic focusing on the years from... more This essay analyzes the causes for the downfall of the Weimar Republic focusing on the years from 1929 to 1933. There are many theories that try to explain the fall of the Weimar Republic, but the two main causes that this paper discusses are whether it failed because of the flaws in its Constitution, or whether the Weimar Republic collapsed because of external circumstances and individual political choices. This essay is structured in a way, where there is firstly a brief introduction, then the two theories are presented individually and finally in the conclusion they are compared. In the end, It is concluded that even though some constitutional mistakes had a great impact in the collapse of the Weimar Republic, the main cause of its decay are external events and the political decisions made during the final years.
Thesis Chapters by Marina Grego
On August 31 2016, the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was removed from her role as Head of St... more On August 31 2016, the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was removed from her role as Head of State by the Senate. Her dismissal was the culmination of an impeachment process that started in April of the same year. This event marks the end of almost two decades of leadership of the Worker’s Party (the Partido dos Trabalhadores), which was founded by Dilma’s mentor and main political supporter, former president Inácio Lula da Silva. Steep economic growth and a roughly stable government characterized the period leading up to Dilma Rousseff’s presidency. Indeed, President Lula was widely popular among the population, in particular the poorest ones, thanks to his socially inclusive initiatives such as the famous program Bolsa Família. Therefore, her dismissal turned out to be the most disruptive event since the impeachment of Fernando Collor de Mello in 1992.
Indeed, a number of scholars interrogated themselves on the reasons behind the Brazilian presidential crisis. However, the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff should not be seen as an isolated case, nor it should be studied as such. In fact, many studies show that presidential crises and impeachments have been a common feature of the Latin American region. Using a comparative approach when studying the Brazilian case is the best option to understand what led to Ms. Rousseff’s dismissal, and, more generally, what are the principal factors and events behind crises and interruptions in presidential systems of governments. These kinds of studies and comparisons help us better understand past crises and teach us how to prevent future ones.
According to one group of academics, some features of the presidential system of government are enough to cause a presidential crisis. Some even believe that this system could facilitate democratic breakdowns. Among the main issues of presidential systems, these scholars identified fixed terms, multipartism, lack of majority support and non-cohesive coalitions. Another group of political scientists agree that specific events in a country are what cause presidential crises. In short, they see macroeconomic problems, social unrest and scandals that involve the government as the main drivers of a crisis. All the theories that these two groups developed are based on studies of past presidential crises and breakdowns and are crucial for understanding what happened in Brazil.
This dissertation is structured in the following way: the first chapter will briefly describe the rise to power of Lula and the Worker’s Party, which set the bases for Dilma Rousseff’s presidency. It will then portray her two terms and the main challenges it faced, as well as the impeachment process. The second chapter will analyze the main theories on presidential crises and impeachments, in particular in Latin America. They will be divided between institutionalist and ‘external’ or ‘exogenous’ causes for presidential failure. The last chapter will apply said theories to the case of Dilma Rousseff, and we will try to provide the best approach to study her impeachment as well as future cases of presidential crisis.
This essay analyzes the causes for the downfall of the Weimar Republic focusing on the years from... more This essay analyzes the causes for the downfall of the Weimar Republic focusing on the years from 1929 to 1933. There are many theories that try to explain the fall of the Weimar Republic, but the two main causes that this paper discusses are whether it failed because of the flaws in its Constitution, or whether the Weimar Republic collapsed because of external circumstances and individual political choices. This essay is structured in a way, where there is firstly a brief introduction, then the two theories are presented individually and finally in the conclusion they are compared. In the end, It is concluded that even though some constitutional mistakes had a great impact in the collapse of the Weimar Republic, the main cause of its decay are external events and the political decisions made during the final years.
On August 31 2016, the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was removed from her role as Head of St... more On August 31 2016, the Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff was removed from her role as Head of State by the Senate. Her dismissal was the culmination of an impeachment process that started in April of the same year. This event marks the end of almost two decades of leadership of the Worker’s Party (the Partido dos Trabalhadores), which was founded by Dilma’s mentor and main political supporter, former president Inácio Lula da Silva. Steep economic growth and a roughly stable government characterized the period leading up to Dilma Rousseff’s presidency. Indeed, President Lula was widely popular among the population, in particular the poorest ones, thanks to his socially inclusive initiatives such as the famous program Bolsa Família. Therefore, her dismissal turned out to be the most disruptive event since the impeachment of Fernando Collor de Mello in 1992.
Indeed, a number of scholars interrogated themselves on the reasons behind the Brazilian presidential crisis. However, the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff should not be seen as an isolated case, nor it should be studied as such. In fact, many studies show that presidential crises and impeachments have been a common feature of the Latin American region. Using a comparative approach when studying the Brazilian case is the best option to understand what led to Ms. Rousseff’s dismissal, and, more generally, what are the principal factors and events behind crises and interruptions in presidential systems of governments. These kinds of studies and comparisons help us better understand past crises and teach us how to prevent future ones.
According to one group of academics, some features of the presidential system of government are enough to cause a presidential crisis. Some even believe that this system could facilitate democratic breakdowns. Among the main issues of presidential systems, these scholars identified fixed terms, multipartism, lack of majority support and non-cohesive coalitions. Another group of political scientists agree that specific events in a country are what cause presidential crises. In short, they see macroeconomic problems, social unrest and scandals that involve the government as the main drivers of a crisis. All the theories that these two groups developed are based on studies of past presidential crises and breakdowns and are crucial for understanding what happened in Brazil.
This dissertation is structured in the following way: the first chapter will briefly describe the rise to power of Lula and the Worker’s Party, which set the bases for Dilma Rousseff’s presidency. It will then portray her two terms and the main challenges it faced, as well as the impeachment process. The second chapter will analyze the main theories on presidential crises and impeachments, in particular in Latin America. They will be divided between institutionalist and ‘external’ or ‘exogenous’ causes for presidential failure. The last chapter will apply said theories to the case of Dilma Rousseff, and we will try to provide the best approach to study her impeachment as well as future cases of presidential crisis.