A new order and the rise of a political agenda with aspects of authoritarianism, neofascism, and the state of exception: between old and new

Abstract

Power games, political and economic instability, and the human relations that arise from these spaces and disputes have always been reference points for literary production. This article thus draws on the novel A Nova Ordem (2019), by B. Kucinski, to discuss the current Brazilian sociopolitical situation. In the novel and in the present reality, reactionary political, economic, and religious forces have risen against the foundations and principles of the democratic rule of law. These reactionary groups seek to restructure the state through systematic violations of the fundamental principles of the contemporary democratic state paradigm: freedom, equality, and human dignity. Given this scenario, Kucinski’s novel can contribute to understanding the transformations of authoritarian and populist movements in the face of new social, political, and cultural agendas. Therefore, my goal is to assess how the old instruments of authoritarianism have reappropriated new institutional paradigms and to explore possibilities of interpretation through literature.