The narrative of internal war and state repression

the strategy of the politics of antagonism and extrajudiciality in the Canudos War

Abstract

The War of Canudos was one of the most tragic and emblematic events in the history of independent Brazil. The armed conflict between the followers of Antônio Conselheiro and the State Forces presented itself as the culmination of a series of serious political, socioeconomic, and religious issues that existed at the end of the 19th century. This article will seek through the theoretical framework of Carl Schmitt's "friend-enemy dichotomy" and Michel Foucault's "raison d’Etát," to investigate the historical events behind the conflict, aiming to understand the elements behind the Republican regime's strategy of repression in the civil war that broke out in the “Baiano” hinterland, and how this led to enormous human consequences. Through qualitative research and adopting the premises of the hypothetical-deductive approach method, the methodology was structured in a dialogue with a variety of works and articles that deal with the analyzed theme, aiming to constitute a critical and constructive examination, intending to understand the connection between the political narrative, the concrete action of the State and the particular logic of state action in a context of exceptionality, also aiming to unravel how these factors were present in the context of the “Canudense” conflict.