Hello, I am Dr. Andreza Aruska
I am the director of the King’s Brazil Institute at the School of Global Affairs, King’s College London and Associate Professor in Brazil and Latin American Studies. I teach two modules “Contemporary Brazil” and “Political Economy of Latin America”. My research and teaching interests include participatory politics, inequalities, and local governments. Regions of interest: Brazil, Latin America, South Africa, China and India. I am the author of the book: “The Politics of Memory: Urban Cultural Heritage in Brazil”. I also co-edited three books: “Urban Transformations and Public Health in the Emergent City”; “African Cities and Collaborative Futures”, both with Manchester University Press; and “The faces of authoritarianism”, with UCL Press.
Biography
My Education Journey
2023 – Present. Director of the King’s Brazil Institute and Associate Professor of Brazilian Politics, School of Global Affairs, King’s College London, UK.
2018 – 2023 – Director of the Brazilian Studies Programme and Lecturer in Latin American Politics and Economics, Latin American Centre, University of Oxford
2016 – 2018. Postdoc in the School of Anthropology – COMPAS, University of Oxford (UK)
2011 – 2015. PhD in Social Anthropology, University of St Andrews (UK)
2007 – 2009. MA in Social Sciences, Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (Germany), University of KwaZulu Natal (Durban, South Africa) and Jawaharlal Nehru University (Delhi, India).
2006. Visiting Student in Politics and German Language, University of Hamburg (Germany)
2001 – 2005. BA in Political Science, University of Brasilia (Brazil)
I have a PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of St Andrews and a master’s degree in social sciences jointly awarded by the University of Freiburg (Germany) and the University of KwaZulu Natal, in Durban (South Africa). During my master’s studies, I also had one semester at JNU in India, and prior to that I completed my undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Brasilia. Having studied in Brazil, Germany, South Africa, India, and the UK, I write comparatively about Brazilian politics and city governance.
I currently have four main projects ongoing: 1. Youth propensity to join military careers in a post-pandemic and post-Bolsonaro Brazil; 2. Economic dependency (especially on mining) and its impact on local governance, gender dynamics, and migration; 3. Citizenship in forest areas (the Amazon); and 4. Sovereignty in contradiction, where I look at the Mariana Court case in London, financed by the British Academy.
Before joining KCL as the Director of the King’s Brazil Institute, I was a lecturer at the University of Oxford and director of the Brazilian Studies Programme (2018-2023). Before that, I was a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford’s School of Anthropology, where I worked at the Urban Transformations portfolio (ESRC). I also worked at Brazil’s Ministry of Social Development, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (Vienna), at the Indian Embassy in Brazil, and at the Brazilian Confederation of Municipalities.
My investigation is mainly concerned with the intersections and the dynamics between formal and informal political and economic systems. In my ethnography in Brazil, I have observed participatory politics (Policy Councils): who participates in meetings, how do meetings develop, and which impact do participatory politics have in the city. What I have seen is that participating is not the same as voicing concerns, and people may go to meetings but remain silent. Sub-optimal decisions in policy councils are sometimes less costly for participants than confronting established powers in town. There is a negative relationship between participation and levels of economic dependency. Although grassroots politics is a valuable resource to press for urban amenities, it is important to consider when poverty mobilises or discourages participatory politics.
A recent essay published in The Architectural review summarises some of my research interests: https://www.architectural-review.com/essays/redefining-the-brazilian-company-town
Publications
My Books
Memória seletiva – O Patrimônio Cultural e o extrativismo no Brasil
De Souza Santos, A. A. (EdufsCar.) (2023)
The Politics of Memory: Urban Cultural Heritage in Brazil
De Souza Santos, A. A. (2019)
Rowman & Littlefield International.
African Cities and Collaborative Futures: Urban Platforms and Collaborative Logistics
De Souza Santos, A. A. and Keith, M. (eds.) (2021). Manchester University Press.
Urban Transformations and Public Health in the Emergent City
De Souza Santos, A. A. and Keith, M. (eds.) (2020), Manchester University Press.
The Faces of Authoritarianism and Strategies of Dissent in Contemporary Brazil
Andreza Aruska de Souza Santos (Editor), Katerina Hatzikidi (Editor) 2025 – UCL Press
de Souza Santos, A. A., et al. (2025). “Becoming or Getting by”: Youths’ Inclination to Join a Military Career in Times of Crisis in Brazil. Armed Forces & Society, 0(0).
de Souza Santos, A. A., et al. .Dataset on Brazilian municipal health policies during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nature Scientific Data (2025).
Parry, Luke (…) de Souza Santos, A. A., et al. Forest citizens and people-centred conservation in the Brazilian Amazon. Conservation Biology (2025).
The Brazilian COVID-19 vaccination campaign: a modelling analysis of sociodemographic factors on uptake.
Li, Sabrina (…) de Souza Santos, A. A., et al. – BMJ Open (2024).
Hill, Sarah (…) de Souza Santos, A. A., et al. “Climate and land-use shape the spread of zoonotic yellow fever virus ”Nature (in Review, 2022).
Spatial and temporal fluctuations in COVID-19 fatality rates in Brazilian hospitals.
Brizzi, Andrea (…) de Souza Santos, A. A., et al. – Nature Medicine (May, 2022).
De Souza Santos, A. A. “Informal practices in politics and society in Brazil” Contemporary Social Science (March, 2022).
Mee, Paul, (…) de Souza Santos, A. A., et al. “Tracking the emergence of disparities in the subnational spread of COVID-19 in Brazil using an online application for real-time data visualisation: a longitudinal analysis.”The Lancet Regional Health (December, 2021).
Li, S.L. (…) de Souza Santos, A. A. et al., “Social and racial inequalities as contributing factors to COVID-19 in São Paulo, Brazil“. International Policy Centre (May 2021).
Li, S.L. (…) de Souza Santos, A. A. et al., “Higher risk of death from COVID-19 in low-income and non-White populations of São Paulo, Brazil“. BMJ Global Health (April, 2021).
De Souza Santos, A. A. & Petherick, Anna. “Challenges of Creating Open Datasets about COVID-19 Policies in Brazil” LASA Forum (April, 2021).
De Souza Santos, A. A. et al. “Dataset on SARS-CoV-2 non-pharmaceutical interventions in Brazilian municipalities“. Nature Scientific Data (March, 2021)
Sabino, E. C. (…) de Souza Santos, A. A. et al. “Resurgence of COVID-19 in Manaus, Brazil, despite high seroprevalence“.The Lancet (Jan, 2021).
Buss L.F. (…) de Souza Santos, A. A. et al. “Three-quarters attack rate of SARS-CoV-2 in the Brazilian Amazon during a largely unmitigated pandemic “. Science (Dec, 2020).
De Souza W.M., Buss L.F. (…) de Souza Santos, A. A. et al. “Epidemiological and clinical characteristics of the COVID-19 epidemic in Brazil“. Nature Human Behaviour (July, 2020).
Candido D., Claro I. (…) de Souza Santos, A. A. et al.“Evolution and pandemic spread of SARS-CoV-2 in Brazil“.Science (July, 2020).
De Souza Santos, A. A. and Payne, Leigh A. “The right-wing backlash in Brazil and beyond”.Politics and Gender (March, 2020).
De Souza Santos, A. A. “Governance challenges in Latin American cities“. Cell Press One Earth (February, 2020)
De Souza Santos, A. A. (with Sue Iamamoto)“Mining legacies in contemporary Potosi and Ouro Preto”. JLAG (October 2019).
De Souza Santos, A. A.”Trading time and space: grassroots negotiation in a Brazilian mining district.”Ethnography, (May 2019).
De Souza Santos, A. A. “Risky closeness and distance in two fieldwork sites in Brazil.”Contemporary SocialScience, (January 2018).
De Souza Santos, A. A. (2023) ‘Unearthing the Buried Past of Brazil’s Former Gold Mines’. In Pusceddu, A. M. & Zerilli, F. M. (eds.) The global life of mines: mining and post-mining in comparative perspective. Berghahn Books.
De Souza Santos, A. A. (2023) ‘In the Name of the Family’: The Evangelical Caucus and Rights Rollbacks in Brazil. In Payne, L; Zulver, J. & Escoffier, S. (eds.) The right against rights in Latin America. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
De Souza Santos, A. A. (2021) “From participation to silence: Grassroots politics in contemporary Brazil”. In Hatzikidi, K & Dullo, E. (eds.) A Horizon of (im)possibilities: A chronicle of Brazil’s conservative turn. London: ILAS.
De Souza Santos, A. A. (2019) “Risky closeness and distance in two fieldwork sites in Brazil”. In Abdelhalim, J & Marks, M (eds) Identity, agency and fieldwork methodologies in risky environments. Routledge.
De Souza Santos, A. A. and Tom Hulme (2019) “Cultural Marginality and Urban Place Making: the Case of Leicester and Ouro Preto”. In Cupples, J. & T. Slater (eds.) Producing and contesting urban marginality: Interdisciplinary and comparative dialogues. Rowman & Littlefield International.
De Souza Santos, A. A. (2013) “Chandigarh and Brasilia: utopias or dystopias?” in Fulquet, G. Janz, C., Kumar, A. (eds.) Analyzing Globalisation in the 21st Century. FLACSO & Palm Leaf Publications, New Delhi, pp. 163-174
De Souza Santos, A. A (2020) Review of the book “An economic and demographic history of Sao Paulo” by Vidal Luna and Herbert S. Klein. The Journal of Urban History.
De Souza Santos, A. A (2018) Review of the book “The limits to citizen power: Participatory democracy and the entanglements of the state” by Victor Albert. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
De Souza Santos, A. A (2018) Review of the book “The limits to citizen power: Participatory democracy and the entanglements of the state” by Victor Albert. The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2026) New Age: Redistributive Policies in Brazil. Fabian Society.
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2023) Redefining the Brazilian company-town. The architectural review.
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2020) Sobre ausências e a vã construção de um esquecimento nacional. Nexo Jornal
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2019) What can we learn from the dam collapse in Brumadinho?, Latin Trade
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2018) Brazil’s 2018 Elections and the Strength of a Weak Campaign, Sociological Review
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2018) Amid the furore of Brazil’s 2018 elections: listening for the quiet voices. Latin American Bureau
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2018) Political Indignation, Protest and Privilege in Brazil, Sociological Review
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2018) São Paulo’s Deadly Housing Crisis – No Solution in Sight , Urban Transformations
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2018) Understanding the complex challenges of Brazil’s cities, Urban Transformations
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2018) Urban informal settlements: contradiction, promise, and innovation, Oxford Urbanists
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2017) Metropolitan health in unequal cities, Urban Transformations
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2016) Could cultural heritage topple Brazil’s political establishment? Urban Transformations
De Souza Santos, A. A.; (2016) Could cultural heritage topple Brazil’s political establishment? Urban Transformations
De Souza Santos, A. A.; Keith, M.; Simcik Arese, N. (2016) O que podemos dizer sobre o futuro das cidades no Brasil e no mundo? BBC Brasil
de Souza Santos, Andreza Aruska; Pella, Antônio Fernando Costa; Lui, Lizandro; Medeiros, Ana Elisabete (2024). Relationship between mineral extraction, oil extraction, and agribusiness with employability, municipal gross domestic product, and voting data in Brazil [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.9p8cz8wqr
de Souza Santos, Andreza Aruska; Leal, Joao Gabriel; Faria, Nuno; Sabino, Esther (2025). Brazilian municipal health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic [Dataset]. Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.v6wwpzh5h
de Souza Santos, A. A. et al. (2020), SARS-CoV-2 non-pharmaceutical interventions in Brazilian municipalities, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.vdncjsxs2
Special Issue Editor
de Souza Santos, A. A. (2020), The prism of Brazil: Informal Practices in politics and society, Contemporary Social Science
Biography
Current Teaching
This list represents the courses taught by this individual at prestigious universities in the United Kingdom. The areas cover Political Economy and Comparative Politics of Latin America, focusing specifically on urban issues, political ethnography, and specific studies on contemporary Brazil. These courses offer an in-depth analysis of Latin American politics, highlighting both general themes and specific nuances of Brazil.
- Political Economy of Latin America, University of Oxford (2018-19)
- Cities and Citizenship in Latin America, University of Oxford (2019-2022)
- Urban and Political Ethnography, University of Oxford (2017 – 2022)
- Contemporary Brazil, King’s College London (2023 – Present)
- Politics in Brazil, University of Oxford (2019- 2023)
- Competing Approaches in Area Studies, University of Oxford (2021- 2022)
- Comparative Politics of Latin America, King’s College London (2023- Present)
Let’s Talk
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I will be happy to help! Get in touch with me by filling out the contact form. I’m here to answer your questions, listen to your suggestions or provide more information about my projects. I await your contact and will respond as quickly as possible.
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