Acts of moral courage among civil servants under democratic backsliding: A comparison of the Trump and Bolsonaro administrations

Under the administrations of US President Donald J. Trump (2017–2021) and Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro (2019–2022), democratic backsliding intensified through illiberal reforms, institutional erosion, and growing political pressures on public administration. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 82 Brazilian and 66 US career civil servants, this study examines episodes of moral courage, defined as principled actions rooted in higher order democratic and professional standards taken in the face of political pressure and personal risk. We find some distinctive trajectories of morally courageous actions across countries and identify the organizational and individual conditions that enable such acts. Crucially, comparable pressures did not produce comparable responses: Brazilian civil servants mobilized through more collective, open, and confrontational acts, whereas their US counterparts adopted more individualized and cautious strategies. We argue that certain relational and organizational contextual factors explain this divergence. We also identified some key factors in both countries that enabled morally courageous action. At the organizational level, supportive professional cultures and strong internal and external networks emerge as key facilitators. At the individual level, moral courage is associated with commitment to agency missions, a sense of self-efficacy, long-term moral reflection, and civic engagement. Our study contributes a cross-national comparative perspective on bureaucratic responses to democratic erosion and integrates existing insights into a comparative framework to guide future research on defending democratic norms under illiberal rule. Points for practitioners Civil servants are better able to act with moral courage, and are better shielded from political retaliation, where meso-level organizational conditions support such action during periods of democratic backsliding. A professional culture grounded in democratic values and a safe organizational environment for reporting misconduct enable civil servants to uphold their agency's mission and the law under political pressure. Supportive workplaces that encourage collaboration among peers and supervisors help civil servants share strategies and sustain valued work in the face of political threats. Strong ties to professional associations and other external support networks enhance civil servants' capacity to defend democratic norms and, as the Brazilian case shows, can be decisive in enabling collective and open forms of moral courage.