Political Institutions and Democracy in Portugal

This book examines how patterns of political representation, party system, and political culture have changed in Southern Europe following the Great Recession of 2008. It draws on the experience of Portugal to argue that austerity measures have significantly deepened the legitimacy crisis of democratic institutions, but the resilience of party system is remarkable in comparison. The case of Portugal present some interesting differences from other southern European democracies, since on one hand it suffered a deep economic crisis and the consequent bailout from the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank and the European Union, but on the other hand the party system remained stable. Nevertheless the impact of the crisis did reinforce a centre-periphery cleavage within the European Union, and especially in the Eurozone, Portugal is a central element of this new cleavage notoriously aggravated by Brexit.

Considers the causes and conditions that explain the development of the modern Portuguese political system Analyses the basic characteristics of Portugal's current democracy Offers an invaluable context to the comparative study of populist challenges in European democracies

Autorentext

António Costa Pinto is Research Professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal. He has published on authoritarianism, political elites, democratization and transitional justice. He co-edited several volumes for Palgrave, namely, Rethinking Fascism and Dictatorship in Europe (2014) (with A. Kallis) and Technocratic Ministers and Political Leadership in European Democracies (2018) (with M. Cotta and P. Tavares de Almeida).

Conceição Pequito Teixeira is Assistant Professor at the Institute of Social and Political Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal. Her research interests currently focus is on comparative politics, parties and systems of political parties, political representation and electoral systems, political institutions and political attitudes and behaviour. Her most recent publications are Social Capital, Social Economy and Quality of Democracy in Portugal (2015) and contributions to the journals South European Society and Politics and Party Politics.

Inhalt

1. Portugal before and after the Great Recession. A resiliente Democracy?.- 2 The Political Economy of Portuguese Crisis Years: The Road not Taken.- 3. The President of the Republic and the Management of the Eurocrisis.- 4. Electoral Systems and Political Reforms: Portugal in Comparative Perspective.- 5. The Portuguese Party System: Evolution in Continuity?.- 6. The Centrality of the Portuguese Parliament: Reform, Troika and Contraption.- 7. The Portuguese Constitutional Court and its Austerity Case Law.- 8. New challenges, Old Parties: Party Change in Portugal after the European crisis.- 9. Trade Union Representation and Industrial Relations in Portugal before, during and following the Economic and Financial Crises.- 10. Portugal and Spain in the international protest cycles: from global justice movement to anti-austerity protests.- 11. Political Discontentment and Democrats with Adjectives in Portugal post-Troika: Risks and Opportunities.