Translated and reviewed by Matheus Lucas Hebling
August 12, 2025
The militarization of Brazilian public security remains one of the most persistent legacies of the authoritarian regime, according to the article O que resta da Doutrina de Segurança Nacional? O legado da DSN na Segurança Pública pós-1988 (“What Remains of the National Security Doctrine? The Legacy of the NSD in Post-1988 Public Security”), by João Rafael Gualberto de Souza Morais (INEST/UFF).
Through an institutional and historical analysis, the study seeks to demonstrate how the principles of the National Security Doctrine (NSD), formulated and consolidated during the military dictatorship, continue to shape the conduct of the Armed Forces and the police even after the promulgation of the 1988 Constitution.
The text traces the origins of the NSD, linked to the professionalization of the Armed Forces oriented toward the control of internal order. The doctrine took shape over the course of the twentieth century, intensifying after the creation of the Superior War College (Escola Superior de Guerra, ESG) and the authoritarian reforms promoted from the 1930s onward.
Structured around combating the “internal enemy” and tied to national development projects, the NSD sustained the military regime between 1964 and 1985, leaving as its legacy a security model centered on repression and on military tutelage over civilian power.
Even after redemocratization, the article shows that the institutional arrangements established in the 1988 Constitution did not break with this legacy. The author highlights the role of the military in the constituent process and points to legal provisions, such as Articles 142 and 144, that retain the Armed Forces as guarantors of “law and order,” reinforcing the militarization of public security.
In addition, the study makes evident the persistence of the logic of subordinating the military police to the Army and the difficulty of building a security system aligned with democratic principles.
Among the principal ramifications identified are the consolidation of the “war on drugs” policy and the recurrent use of military operations in peripheral territories. The case of Rio de Janeiro is presented as an example of how the doctrine authorizes repressive practices that disproportionately affect the poor and Black population.
According to the article, the militarization of public security translates into a form of social control that undermines the effectiveness of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
The author argues that the persistence of the NSD within the structure of the Brazilian state constitutes an obstacle to the consolidation of democracy. Beyond a critique of the past, the article proposes a reflection on the need to revise the role of the Armed Forces, to reform the police, and to move beyond a security model centered on the enemy. It is, therefore, an invitation to debate the reconstruction of public policies committed to citizenship and the rule of law.
In summary:
- The study analyzed the persistence of the National Security Doctrine (NSD) in public security policies after 1988.
- The research focuses on the role of the Armed Forces and the militarization of the police in the democratic period.
- It argues that the 1988 Constitution preserved institutional provisions that reinforce the authoritarian logic of the NSD.
- The work identifies the “war on drugs” policy as a vector of continuity for this doctrine.
- It concludes that the militarization of public security contributes to the production of violence and weakens the democratic order.
About the Author
João Rafael Gualberto de Souza Morais is a professor at the Institute of Strategic Studies of Fluminense Federal University (Instituto de Estudos Estratégicos, Universidade Federal Fluminense, INEST-UFF) and a researcher at the Laboratory of Political Studies on Defense and Public Security (LEPDESP). He holds a PhD in Political Science from the Institute of Social and Political Studies of the Rio de Janeiro State University (IESP-UERJ) and a master’s degree in Strategic Studies from the Graduate Program in Strategic Studies of Defense and Security (PPGEST) at the Institute of Strategic Studies of Fluminense Federal University.
Publication Details
Title: O que resta da Doutrina de Segurança Nacional? O legado da DSN na Segurança Pública pós-1988 [“What Remains of the National Security Doctrine? The Legacy of the NSD in Post-1988 Public Security”]
Author: João Rafael Gualberto de Souza Morais
Year of publication: 2023
Available in: Revista Teoria & Pesquisa, vol. 32, special issue 2
Keywords: National Security Doctrine Brazil, militarization of public security, Brazilian military dictatorship legacy, civil-military relations Brazil, military police Brazil, war on drugs Brazil, 1988 Constitution Article 142, Garantia da Lei e da Ordem (GLO), public security policy Brazil, authoritarian legacy democracy, policing Rio de Janeiro favelas, internal enemy doctrine, military tutelage civilian power, redemocratization Brazil, race class and policing Brazil
