by PublicABCP
Translated and reviewed by Matheus Lucas Hebling
The article “Policy Dismantling and Resilience: A Proposal for an Analytical Framework Based on the Case of the Food and Nutritional Security Policy in Brazil” investigates the relationship between policy dismantling and the resilience of public policies. Focusing on Brazil’s food and nutritional security policy, the study examines how dismantling processes during periods of democratic erosion trigger reactions and resistance strategies.
Authored by researchers Marina Lazarotto de Andrade (University of Brasília), Carolina Milhorance (CIRAD – International Development and Agricultural Research), and Hannah Ribeiro Parnes (University of Brasília), the article was published in the Brazilian Political Science Review.
To conduct their investigation, the authors used qualitative methods, including semi-structured interviews and participant observation. Their methodology focused on three key food and nutritional security programmes in Brazil: the Food Acquisition Programme (PAA), the National School Feeding Programme (PNAE), and the Cisterns Programme.
The study aimed to identify not only the impact of dismantling efforts, but also the factors that contributed to each programme’s resilience.
The findings show that although all programmes were affected, resilience varied significantly. The PNAE demonstrated the highest level of resilience, largely due to its mandatory implementation and the strong mobilisation of local actors committed to healthy school meals.
By contrast, the PAA and the Cisterns Programme faced greater challenges, including budget cuts and political delegitimisation. Nevertheless, the study highlights that civil society mobilisation played a crucial role in sustaining and adapting the programmes, even under adverse conditions.
The authors identify several resilience strategies adopted by social actors to counter policy dismantling. These include the creation of new implementation arrangements, diversification of governance structures, engagement of non-state actors, and the formation of parallel forums.
For example, PNAE benefited from decentralisation, which enabled subnational governments to mobilise their own resources and maintain the programme’s mandatory implementation. The Cisterns Programme continued operating through innovation and active civil society participation, despite reduced funding. Governance diversification involved collaboration across levels of government and partnerships with NGOs to ensure continuity.
The study illustrates how public policies can maintain their objectives and effectiveness even amid dismantling attempts. The resilience strategies uncovered underscore the importance of social mobilisation, intergovernmental cooperation, and attention to local dynamics in policy formulation and implementation.
Author Profiles
Marina Lazarotto de Andrade is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Brasília (UnB). She holds a Master’s in Political Science from UnB and a BA in International Relations from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). She is a member of the Research Group on Institutions and Public Policies (GIPP).
Carolina Milhorance holds a PhD in Political Science from Paris-Saclay University (jointly with the University of Brasília – CDS/UnB) and a Master’s in International Relations with a focus on Environment and Sustainable Development from Sciences Po Paris. She is a Political Science Researcher at CIRAD/ArtDev (Centre for International Cooperation and Agronomic Research for Development), based in Montpellier, France.
Hannah Ribeiro Parnes is a Master’s student in Political Science at the University of Brasília and a member of RESOCIE – the Research Group Rethinking the Relationship Between Society and the State.
Publication Details
Title: Policy Dismantling and Resilience: A Proposal for an Analytical Framework Based on the Case of the Food and Nutritional Security Policy in Brazil
Authors: Marina Lazarotto de Andrade, Carolina Milhorance, and Hannah Ribeiro Parnes
Publication Year: 2024
Published in: Brazilian Political Science Review – Volume 18, No. 2
