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The transformation of social organization and mobilization processes, alongside the emergence of new actors and conflicts, is a global phenomenon that coincides with the crisis of democracy, growing social vulnerability caused by liberalizing policies, the rise of the populist far-right, and the increasingly central role of digital communication technologies. These phenomena both reflect and drive changes in the makeup of civil society and in the relationships between its actors and the state. This broad and complex process of reconfiguring interactions between civil society and the state in Brazil is the focus of this INCT.

Following a period of center-left governments that strengthened social policies and established spaces for social organizations and movements to participate in public policymaking, the 2010s were marked by protests criticizing the political system, calls for presidential impeachment, and the growing influence of conservative civil society actors and far-right political organizations in the public sphere. As a result, the ways in which civil society interacts with the political and party system – as well as with state agents, government agencies, market actors, and market arenas – are changing. Relationships within civil society are also shifting, paving the way for a variety of counter-movements.

To address these transformations, INCT Participa brings together a wide network of researchers and civil society organizations committed to producing knowledge aimed at intervention. This network stands out for its disciplinary diversity, nationwide presence, recognized expertise, and a long history of collaboration. Committed to producing advanced knowledge, training new researchers, enhancing state capacities, strengthening civil society efforts, and promoting internationalization, the network focuses on three research areas: participation, associativism, and political contention.

The INCT Participa connects and empowers a network of national researchers and international collaborators to advance knowledge on how the interactions between political actors and civil society have evolved in post-2013 Brazil. The initiative places special emphasis on innovations in participation – whether institutional or extra-institutional – as well as formal or informal associativism and disruptive or uncivil forms of civil society mobilization.

In pursuit of this overarching goal, the INCT establishes dual partnerships: with research centers and researchers operating at both national and international levels, and with civil society organizations, which are engaged in the project as co-producers of knowledge. The INCT’s partnerships also extend to government agencies and state technical specialists dedicated to participation and associative programs. They involve the training of public servants and social actors in the three INCT research areas: transformations in participation; transformations in associativism; and transformations in political contention.

As outlined in its internal charter, the INCT may establish partnerships with government agencies, civil society organizations, funding bodies, and research centers, provided these partnerships align with INCT’s objectives and activities. International researchers may also collaborate in INCT activities through the centers or by invitation from the Steering Committee, depending on their expressed interest.