Islam, N.,Harrigan, Brian.2009-03-252009-03-2519951995Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 34-05, page: 1814.9780612078505http://hdl.handle.net/10393/9881http://dx.doi.org/10.20381/ruor-16552Brazil is not a homogeneous mix of peoples or ecological traits and its regions are in fact characterized by widely divergent cultures, beliefs, perceptions and attitudes reflected in a wide array of social and political structures. This thesis posits that there are underlying characteristics which form the foundation of the Brazilian governments' environmental policies, and that fundamental trends have emerged from this policy process. Part 1 attempts to hone the meanings of both the environment and policy, and presents the elements which form the environmental policy framework, and provides the blueprint from which Brazil's environmental mapping is traced. Part 2 underlines Brazil's diversity alluded to previously, and which must constantly be contrasted with the admittedly simplifying policy instruments developed in Part 1 in order to more accurately reflect the country's diverse realities. Brazil's less than brilliant environmental reputation is also briefly described. Part 3 and, particularly, Part 4 form the nucleus of the thesis, and describe Brazil's historical formation viewed through its effect on the environmental policy framework elements, namely long and short-term forces, "environmental players", and the constituent parts of the policy process including: Agenda setting and policy formulation, and policy legitimization, implementation and evaluation. Nearly five hundred years of social, political and economic evolution and their effects on the environmental framework are sectioned into five periods, with relevant elements affecting Brazil's environmental policy arena concluding each historical section, and with particular analytical emphasis starting from the onset of the military regime in 1964. Finally, Part 5 is a retrospective overview which pulls together the analysis of the previous parts, and unfold Brazil's environmental policy map, identifying the clear characteristics and trends which have surfaced within the country's environmental evolution, thus reaching the thesis' objectives. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)157 p.Political Science, Public Administration.Thesis