Um Direito Administrativo Interventor: o conceito de direito administrativo na cultura jurídica da era Vargas (1930-1945)

This study aims to identify the main characteristics of the concept of administrative law circulating in the Vargas era legal culture. Focusing on the specific field of legal doctrinal discourse, Manuals of Administrative Law published in Brazil between 1930 and 1945 were examined so as to identify: elements of convergence and divergence between the various concepts of administrative law proposed; their impact on the structuring of a scientific-disciplinary field for this legal discourse; and its role on the re-signification and re-functionalization of the legal-administrative thinking of the period. In conclusion, brazilian legal doctrine in Vargas era developed a concept of administrative law that was more inspired by practical needs and concrete circumstances than by abstract concepts and scientific criteria, aimed at enabling the State’s directive on the economy, strengthening the executive branch’s authority and dissolving the boundaries between constitutional law and administrative law.