That the Brazilian political scene has become fractured, fraught and polarised was never less than plainly obvious during the bitterly fought presidential election campaign of 2018. The centre ground, upon which several of the structural reforms of the 1990s and early 2000s were founded, appeared to have crumbled away. In its place was a landscape dominated by shrill debate, an apparent refusal to embrace common ground and increasingly powerful and vituperative social media campaigns. These disturbing features are certainly not unique to Brazilian politics. All the same, they have placed severe strain on the democratic settlement painstakingly achieved since the end of military rule in 1985. The recent arrival of this book, surveying manifold aspects of Brazil's political divisions, is thus propitious. Drawing on a broad range of top-quality contributions, the volume traces the roots of division, helping us to understand the challenges which Brazil will need to overcome if it is to embark on a course of constructive, consensus-led reform.

This book's preoccupation is with long-term structural considerations rather than pure reaction to immediate events. This attribute must partly stem from the fact that this book is the third volume in a series. Its predecessors, Democratic Brazil: Actors, Institutions and Processes (2000) and Democratic Brazil Revisited (2008), charted the political economy of democratisation and Brazil's insertion into the global order. Both of these volumes contended with an era when Brazil was essentially in the ascendancy, though naturally their contributors were at pains to highlight areas where progress had not been made or was urgently needed. The volume under review adopts a similar approach. This time round though, the degree of urgency attaching to such shortcomings can only have increased in response to the emergence of deep economic and political crisis.

The central analytical framework to which this volume adheres draws on Philippe Schmitter's notion of ‘partial regimes’ (p. 21). This allows for an actor-centric and disaggregated approach to evaluating Brazil's democratic development. In a country as diverse and – to use an old structuralist term – dualistic as Brazil, this is surely a sound choice. The chapters, as they unfold, provide diverse and contrasting perspectives. Collectively, they present a rich, troubling picture and, more optimistically, elements of a manifesto for change. Chapters 1 and 2 (respectively by Oswaldo do Amaral and Rachel Meneguello; Benjamin Goldfrank and Brian Wampler) offer an extremely comprehensive account of the PT (or Workers’ Party) both as a political institution and as an actor in power. Chapter 2 especially is very perceptive in analysing issues of transparency and corruption as they came to taint the party. One gains a clear sense of the manner in which attempts to secure legislative passage, party cohesion and support bases increasingly centred on illegitimate means. The chapters are effective not only in telling this story, but also in terms of depicting the institutional and organisational context in which it unfolded.

While Chapters 1 and 2 specifically concern themselves with aspects of the PT in power – including reflections on Lava Jato (‘Car Wash’) scandal-related malfeasance – Chapter 3 (by Matthew Taylor) offers a broader analysis of issues of accountability and corruption. The chapter in some sense supplements its two predecessors by providing broader institutional, societal and historical context. Given its orientation the chapter performs an effective role in demonstrating that our understanding of the corruption of Brazilian politics needs to move beyond a consideration of individual political figures – or even parties – to embrace a more holistic, systemic view. In adopting such an approach, it can be argued, one would be much better placed to advocate effective reform strategies to tackle such issues as rent seeking and illicit party funding. My reading of the chapter highlighted the potential role of better institutional design and, perhaps by extension, a reformulation of Brazil's troubled state capitalist model.

From Chapter 4 onwards the volume assumes more of a sectoral focus, befitting its ‘partial regime’-oriented organising principle. Chapter 4 (Kathryn Hochstetler) offers a timely survey of environmental politics in Brazil, a theme which perhaps has assumed a lower profile in recent years in the face of economic crisis and political scandal. The chapter alerts us to the lingering challenges which future administrations urgently need to face, especially around climate change. Chapter 5 (Marcus André Melo) is in some ways more optimistic in tone; it presents very clearly the significant educational achievements achieved during the Fernando Henrique Cardoso (1995–2002) and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva periods (2003–10). Perhaps counter to the popular narrative of corruption and institutional failure surrounding public services, the chapter advances evidence that better checks and monitoring of spending have played some role in improving educational outcomes. Similarly, Chapter 6 (Wendy Hunter and Natasha Borges Sugiyama) draws our attention to the achievements of Brazil's renowned Bolsa Família conditional cash transfer programme. Progress has also been made in terms of investigating human rights violations during the military period, as Anthony Pereira reminds us in Chapter 7. Still, as the chapter notes, such trials as have occurred may not necessarily lead to any future reductions in the level of state violence. Chapters 8 and 9 (Maria Hermínia Tavares de Almeida and Fernando Henrique Guarnieri; Alfredo Saad-Filho) draw attention to the class mobility and economic forces which have helped to alter political consciousness and, in some cases, fomented public unrest. Finally Chapters 10 and 11 (Sean Burges and Jean Daudelin; Leslie Elliott Armijo) focus respectively on Brazil's enhanced foreign profile and its renowned, though increasingly controversial, national development bank.

As previously stated, these chapters combine to prevent a rich and intriguing picture. They highlight a nation still very much in the throes of a troubled transition where, in some areas, the frontier of democracy, transparency and accountability has advanced far less rapidly than in others. At what could prove a pivotal point in Brazil's post-1985 democratic history, this volume is a timely and welcome addition to the literature.