Seminar How to bring authoritarians to justice
12 May 2026
Join us for an in-depth discussion on democratic resilience and the challenges of confronting authoritarian threats in the modern world
- 05:00 PM - 06:30 PM
- Online on Microsoft Teams and in person : Aula JEMOLO - Strada Maggiore 45, Bologna, Bologna
- Society & Culture In English
How to partecipate
Free admission
Program
Brazil stands out among democracies for having convicted a former president over an attempted coup. In a global context where challenges to democratic institutions often go unpunished, this case invites closer examination—what made accountability possible? Why did Brazil succeed where many other democracies have struggled? And what lessons can be drawn for safeguarding democratic systems elsewhere?
In this seminar, the dynamics that enabled Brazilian courts to hold Jair Bolsonaro accountable are examined. The presentation is based on a recent article of the same title, published in the Journal of Democracy co-authored by Luciano da Ros and Manoel Gehrke.
About the speakers
Luciano Da Ros is associate professor of political science at the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. His academic work focus on the judiciary. Da Ros most recent work has been published at the Journal of Democracy, Government and Opposition and Public Integrity.
Manoel Gehrke is research fellow at the University of Pisa. He works work in the fields of comparative politics and political economy, with a regional emphasis on Latin America. His research has been published in the Journal of Democracy, Governance, Government & Opposition.
Chair: Professor Giorgia Pavani (Comparative Public Law) and coordiantor of the Unibo's Centro di studi sull'America Latina - CSAL.
Discussants: Fernanda Odilla, assistant professor, Giovanni Agostinis (TBC), associate professor at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Bologna.
To attend:
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Meeting ID: 392 967 728 251 986
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