Police violence in Brazil

elements for a theoretical approach based on the thoughts of Durkheim and Weber

Authors

  • Benoni Belli

Keywords:

Police violence, Durkheim, Weber, Monopoly of violence, Legal domination

Abstract

This article proposes an incursion into the thoughts of Émile Durkheim and Max Weber based on the definition of two axes of analysis concerning the problem of police violence in Brazil. In the first, the author uses Durkheim's categories as a counterpoint to common-sense conceptions about crime and the criminal that justify police violence and help to reproduce it. The second axis of analysis draws on the Weberian notion of the state monopoly of legitimate physical violence and the ideal type of legal domination as two instruments for "measuring" the specific configuration assumed by the repressive apparatus of the State in Brazil.

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References

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Published

1999-07-01

How to Cite

BELLI, Benoni. Police violence in Brazil: elements for a theoretical approach based on the thoughts of Durkheim and Weber. Brazilian Journal of Criminal Science, São Paulo, v. 27, n. 27, p. 295–308, 1999. Disponível em: https://publicacoes.ibccrim.org.br/index.php/RBCCRIM/article/view/3890. Acesso em: 20 oct. 2026.

Issue

Section

Sociologia Jurídica
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