[13] After his presidency, he was appointed to a five-year term (2003–2008) as professor-at-large at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies, where he is now on the board of overseers.

[14] In February 2005, he gave the fourth annual Kissinger Lecture on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, Washington DC on "Dependency and Development in Latin America.

His doctoral thesis, under the supervision of Florestan Fernandes, examined the institution of slavery in Southern Brazil, critiquing, from a Marxist perspective, the dominant approach of Gilberto Freyre to the topic.

[11] As he continued his academic career abroad in Chile and France after the tightening of the Brazilian military dictatorship, Cardoso published several books and papers on state bureaucracy, industrial elites and, particularly, dependency theory.

[19] After presiding the International Sociological Association from 1982 to 1986 Cardoso was selected as a Fulbright Program 40th anniversary distinguished fellow and in that capacity was a visiting scholar and lectured at Columbia University on democracy in Brazil.

As a senator, Cardoso took part in the 1987–1988 National Constituent Assembly that drafted and approved Brazil's current Constitution in the wake of the country's re-democratization.

After the constitution was amended to allow a president to succeed himself, he won a second term almost as easily in 1998, taking 53% to Lula's 31.7% to win in a single round.

Cardoso had difficulty at times gaining support for some of his legislative priorities, even though his coalition held an overwhelming majority of the congressional seats.

[clarification needed] Cardoso's presidency saw institutional advancements in human rights, beginning with a national secretariat and a new government program, discussed with civil society, to address the issue.

During his first term, several government-owned enterprises in areas such as steel milling, telecommunications and mining, such as Telebras and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce were sold to the private sector, the deepest denationalisation in Brazilian history, amidst a polarized political debate between "neoliberals" and "developmentalists".

Ironically, this time Cardoso was against the latter group, generating uproar among former academic colleagues and political allies who accused him of reneging on his previous intellectual work.

Economists still contend over its long-term effects; some research suggests that companies sold by the government achieved better profitability as a result of their disengagement from the state.

Economists aligned with his government argued that this was due to external factors outside the control of the administration at the time, such as the devaluation of the Brazilian real and the growth of the share of the debt denominated in US dollars.

Given his previous experience as Minister of Foreign Affairs and his prestige as an internationally famous sociologist, he was respected on the world scene, building friendships with such leaders as Bill Clinton and Ernesto Zedillo.

As a result, major reforms planned by the executive branch, such as changes in the tax system and to social security, were only partially approved and only after long discussion.

He also experienced personal problems with former ally Itamar Franco, his predecessor and later became Governor of Minas Gerais, a fierce opponent of his administrative reforms that saw the state lose its capacity to contract debt and forced a reduction of local government spending.

His popularity in his first four years, gained with the success of Plano Real, decreased during his last four years as the currency crisis was followed by lower economic growth and employment rates, greater public debt, growing political dissent, low levels of investment in appropriate infrastructure, and, finally, an energy crisis caused by an unexpected drought, as over 80% of Brazil's electricity is hydroelectric.

Cardoso's administration was accused of bribing congressmen to pass a constitutional amendment that secured FHC the right to seek reelection, which he eventually won.

Nevertheless, his relatively low popularity rates among the general population have made his legacy a mixed blessing to his political allies, who are somewhat reluctant to embrace it wholeheartedly during elections, especially on topics regarding privatization and social policy.

[45] In August 2009, he travelled to Israel and the West Bank as the head of an Elders delegation that also included Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson and Desmond Tutu.