Enclosed Democracy - What role do gated communities play in the democratization process in Brazil?

Abstract: This thesis looks into the question of what role gated communities have played in the process of democratization in Brazil. To answer the question primary data collected during field work in São Paulo in Brazil has been analyzed. Material from in total ten semi-structured interviews with residents in the gated communities Alphaville 1 in Barueri and Condominio da Sucupira in Carapicuiba, two semi-structured interviews with two journalists whereof one on O Estado de São Paulo and one on Folha de São Paulo and one semi-structured interview with a developer of gated communities have been used. Theories by Robert D. Putnam on social capital, theories by Samuel P. Huntington and Robert A. Dahl on democratization, and a theoretical framework by Edward J. Blakely and Mary Gail Snyder on gated communities was used. An interesting finding is that gated communities affects social capital and market economy.