Military Doctrine as a Pillar of Authoritarianism in the National Security Republic
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36704/rhp.v3i6.10080Keywords:
ditadura civil-militar, Estado, PoliticaAbstract
This review critically examines Rodrigo Lentz's book, Republic of National Security: Military and Politics in Brazil (2022), which investigates the historical and structural permanence of the Armed Forces at the center of Brazilian political power. Based on extensive institutional documentation—notably the manuals of the Superior War College (ESG)—Lentz formulates the concept of a "Republic of National Security" to characterize a state model sustained by permanent military tutelage, even in formally democratic regimes. The analysis highlights the theoretical and methodological robustness of the work, as well as its ability to articulate military political culture with the reproduction of social, economic, and racial hierarchies in the country. By historicizing the National Security Doctrine and destabilizing the narrative of the rupture between dictatorship and democracy, the author offers a critical reading of the authoritarian continuities of the New Republic. Recommended for researchers and students of the humanities, the work constitutes a decisive contribution to the contemporary debate on militarism and authoritarianism in Brazil.
References
LENTZ, Rodrigo. República de Segurança Nacional: militares e política no Brasil. São Paulo: Expressão Popular; Fundação Rosa Luxemburgo, 2022.
