Banca de DEFESA: MATEUS VICENTE GUERRA DANTAS OLIVEIRA
Uma banca de DEFESA de MESTRADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.STUDENT : MATEUS VICENTE GUERRA DANTAS OLIVEIRA
DATE: 22/04/2026
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Virtual - Meet
TITLE:
Rome versus Moscow: Anticommunism, Geopolitics, and Catholicism in Everardo Backheuser’s Work (1928–1933)
KEY WORDS:
Everardo Backheuser; Catholic Anticommunism; Religious Geopolitics; Centro Dom Vital.
PAGES: 151
BIG AREA: Ciências Humanas
AREA: História
SUMMARY:
This dissertation analyzes Everardo Backheuser's political thought in the period between his conversion to Catholicism in 1928 and the publication of A Sedução do Comunismo (The Seduction of Communism) in 1933, with the aim of understanding the articulation between anti-communism, geopolitics, and Catholicism in his work. A prominent intellectual in the fields of geography and education, Backheuser was a pioneer in the introduction of geopolitics in Brazil and, after his conversion, became actively involved in the Dom Vital Center, emerging as one of the most expressive voices of militant Catholicism during the period. The research investigates how his adherence to Catholicism shaped his anti-communism through the influence of anti-modern Catholic thought. Methodologically, the study falls within the field of the History of Political Ideas, engaging in dialogue with intellectual history and critical geopolitics. It is argued that Backheuser's anti-communism cannot be understood solely as an ideological position, but rather as an expression of an anti-modern myth that shaped his interpretation of historical and political reality. Backheuser developed a worldview that can be understood as a form of religious geopolitics, in which modern geopolitical categories were reinterpreted in light of the theological and moral principles of Catholicism. From this perspective, he proposed that world reality be understood as an opposition between Rome and Moscow, two antagonistic civilizational poles: on the one hand, order, tradition, and unity, represented by Catholicism; on the other, the moral, social, and national disintegration associated with communism—the ultimate expression of modern ideologies.
COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1280374 - RENATO AMADO PEIXOTO
Interno - 2277360 - MAGNO FRANCISCO DE JESUS SANTOS
Externo à Instituição - CÂNDIDO MOREIRA RODRIGUES - UFMT