Oliveira Vianna and the dilemmas of collective action in Brazil

Abstract

This work aims to analyze the continuities and discontinuities in Oliveira Vianna’s claims about collective action in Brazil. In particular, we emphasize the tensions of his intellectual formation and its consequences in the writing process of Populações Meridionais do Brasil. Also, we claim that Instituições Políticas Brasileiras introduces a substantial change in Oliveira Vianna’s perspective, questioning the image of a unitary and homogeneous oeuvre.