FGV’s Sao Paulo Law School (Direito SP) will host the workshop titled ‘Law and capitalism in the corporate State: comparing Europe and Latin America between 1930 and 1945’ on September 25-28. This is the first meeting of an international research network on the subject, coordinated by Direito SP professor Thiago Reis, with support from Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP). The research network also includes Hans-Peter Haferkamp (Cologne), Thorsten Keiser (Gießen), Irene Stolzi (Florence), Maurizio Cau (Trento), Eduardo Zimmermann (Buenos Aires), William Novak (Michigan), Airton Seelaender (Brasília), and Gustavo Siqueira (Rio de Janeiro).

The overall goal of the research project is to investigate the relationships between law, capitalism, and political institutions in Europe and the Americas from a comparative point of view, particularly regarding shifts in the state power in the early 20^th century. Spanning across two world wars, the global impacts of an economic depression, and the proliferation of authoritarian regimes on both sides of the Atlantic, this period saw radical changes in virtually all areas of the Law. By emphasizing the importance of the legal perspective both in relation to the construction of authoritarianism and the organization of the economy, the research network aims to clarify how the Law and its experts specifically contributed to different trajectories of economic, political, and social development throughout the 20^th century.

Building upon the scenario of international movement and local adaptation of institutional models of corporatist inspiration, the workshop is dedicated to the study of shifts in state power in the 1930’s and 1940’s, both in Europe and in Latin America. This was a period when corporatism worked as a permanent source of inspiration for new forms of political representation and economic dirigisme implemented by authoritarian regimes. From the perspective of legal thought, the corporatist criticism of the ability of classic liberal institutions to settle issues created by the emergence of a mass society ran in parallel to the dissemination of anti-formalist, ‘realistic,’ and functionalist trends in relation to the Law. By comparing Argentina, Brazil, Germany, and Italy, the workshop aims to understand the relationship between legal thought, the transformations of institutions, and economic development during such a central period of 20^th century history. 

The event takes place at FGV’s 9 de Julho Auditorium (Rua Itapeva, 432, ground floor – Bela Vista, São Paulo/SP).

Go to the website for more information.