3.4 – Power and developments
The imprisonment of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, convicted of plotting to overturn the 2022 election, offers a clear illustration of how the rule of law underpins democratic governance. His 27-year sentence shows that in a functioning democracy, legal and constitutional constraints remain binding even on powerful political figures. The ability of courts to act independently is central to preventing executive overreach, and Bolsonaro’s case reinforces the principle that no leader can legitimately place themselves above the law.
The episode also sheds light on how the global spread of liberal democracy shapes expectations of state behaviour. Democracies are expected to uphold transparent elections, protect civil liberties and maintain institutional checks on government power. By prosecuting a former head of state for attempting to subvert an election, Brazil demonstrates alignment with these global democratic norms. Such actions strengthen the credibility of democratic institutions and help reinforce international expectations that states governed by democratic principles will behave predictably and constitutionally. Notably, the failure of the USA to credibly deal with the Capitol insurrection in 2021 and Trump’s attempts to subvert American democracy, have weakened its hand in global political interactions with other states.