Is Itamaraty a total institution?
The applicability of a sociological concept in a bureaucracy
Keywords:
Brazilian Foreign Policy, Total Institutions, Chicago School, ItamaratyAbstract
Sociological concepts are essential to understand organizations. Few concepts are as popular as "total institutions". In this article, I present the concept, showing first its limitations to explain the life of Brazilian diplomats at the Minister of External Relations (Itamaraty). Then I explain the reason why such concept is used, despite its inadequacy.