State capacity in access to justice

a study of the specialized centers of the São Paulo Public Defender’s Office

Abstract

This paper examines the institutional capacities established and mobilized by the specialized centers of the Public Defender’s Office of the State of São Paulo in their participation in public policy-making processes between 2018 and 2021. The theoretical framework draws on the literature on state capacities for public policy production, and the methodology is qualitative, based on documentary sources and semi-structured interviews with coordinating public defenders and multidisciplinary staff members. The findings reveal that resources, instruments, and alignments of interpretations and actions constitute relevant dimensions of these institutional capacities of these specialized centers. The paper argues that resources, instruments, and alignments of interpretations and actions — understood as forms of political coordination — must be combined in the Public Defender’s Office’s activities to enhance and strengthen the impact of its interventions. It also identifies key challenges to improving the institution’s internal policies. The research highlights that the agenda and strategic choices of the specialized centers depend heavily on the profile and certain activism of their coordinators, which tends to weaken the establishment of coherent institutional policies under continuous review, monitoring, and evaluation, and hinders the institutionalization and consolidation of components of institutional capacity over time.