Fabiana Luci de Oliveira
Associate Professor, Federal University of São Carlos
CERLP Short-term Visiting Scholar
Fabiana Luci de Oliveira, Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the Federal University of São Carlos (São Paulo, Brazil), is currently conducting a short research stay at the Center for Empirical Research on the Legal Profession. Her project, "The Brazilian Federal Supreme Court (STF) in the Context of Democratic Backsliding and Resistance," examines the relationship between legal professions and politics in Brazil through the metaphor of a "tug-of-war" between progressive and conservative forces. The study investigates the STF’s role in this dynamic, analyzing whether and how the Court has acted as a driver of democratic erosion or as a safeguard against it. The research maps both formal and informal mechanisms used to weaken or strengthen the STF, as well as judicial behaviors that may generate constitutional tensions or serve as barriers to democratic backsliding. During her three-month stay at CERLP, Professor Oliveira aims to explore whether similar formal and informal mechanisms have been employed to influence the U.S. Supreme Court, particularly since the Trump administration (2017–2021), and whether its role has been perceived as contributing to democratic erosion or as a counterforce against it.