Abstract
This paper presents the work of Brazilian sociologist and constitutional author Marcelo Neves, interpreting his theoretical contribution as a non-Eurocentric postcolonial approach to the process of nation-building. It portrays how Neves engages with a long-standing tradition of Brazilian social thought. We argue that Neves stands against the epistemological nationalism of such tradition and is critical of its presuppositions and ideological functions. Nevertheless, he draws on insights from these theories about the peripheries of world society – such as the infiltration of private interests into public ones, and the reproduction of inequality. For Neves, social exclusion constitutes a building block in structuring a stable social order established on precarious forms of citizenship.
Keywords
peripheral modernity; social exclusion; Brazilian social thought; world society