Working, Shirking, and Sabotage in Times of Democratic Backsliding: An Experimental Study in Brazil
Abstract
In times of democratic backsliding and electorally successful populist leaders, it becomes relevant to identify which actors could function as gatekeepers of institutional and policy change. Would civil servants be willing to act as veto players by refusing to implement policies that undermine democratic institutions? We provide preliminary answers to this question based on a set of survey experiments conducted with Brazilian bureaucrats. Using the triad “working, shirking, and sabotage” (Brehm and Gates 1999), our results confirm that civil servants are willing to shirk and sabotage if assigned to implement policies that are perceived to restrict democratic rights, such as the freedoms of press and expression. Furthermore, we demonstrate how different individual characteristics affect the bureaucrats’ intention to behave in these situations.
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Guedes-Neto and Peters found that Brazilian civil servants are willing to shirk and sabotage if assigned to implement policies that are perceived to restrict democratic rights.
“Using Brehm and Gates (1999) triad”
From Public Administration Under Populist Rule: Standing Up Against Democratic Backsliding (2024) · cites this paper as Guedes-Neto & Peters, 2021
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Public Administration Under Populist Rule: Standing Up Against Democratic Backsliding
Bauer, M. W. (2024) · International Journal of Public Administration · doi:10.1080/01900692.2023.2243400 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
“Furthermore, they demonstrate that different individual characteristics affect the bureaucrats’ behavioral intentions in these situations (Guedes-Neto & Peters, 2021; Saxlund Bischoff, 2022).”
The Guardian State: Strengthening the public service against democratic backsliding
Yesilkagit, K., Bauer, M., Peters, B. G., & Pierre, J. (2024) · Public Administration Review · doi:10.1111/puar.13808 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Self-citationBringing political science back into public administration research
Peters, B. G., Pierre, J., Sørensen, E., & Torfing, J. (2022) · Governance · doi:10.1111/gove.12705 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
- Authors
- Guedes-Neto, J. V., & Guy Peters, B.
- Venue
- Democratic Backsliding and Public Administration
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Published
- 2021-08-31
- Pages
- 221-245
- OpenAlex
- W3194405493
- Cited by
- 55
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 16 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 67.74
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Politics and Society in Latin America
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Political Conflict and Governance
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Theory and Democracy
- Keywords
- democratic backsliding, public sector employees, veto players, populist leaders, policy implementation, democratic rights, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, individual characteristics, Brazil
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