Constructing Democracy in Southern Europe
Constructing Democracy in Southern Europe

Author: Lauren M. McLaren

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2008-04-08

Total Pages: 603

ISBN-13: 113407185X

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Why are some regimes democratic while others are not? Specifically, how have Spain and Italy managed to become democratic while Turkey, which shares many similar characteristics, has not? Spain, Italy and Turkey have shared common historical features which would have been disruptive to any new democracy; however they represent a wide array of democratization experiences. Providing a comparative case study analysis, this book offers some clues as to the reasons for successful transitions to democracy. This is done through a range of variables which include: the degree of ‘stateness’ problems learning from previous experiences with democracy and authoritarianism economic development the procedures used for designing the new rules of the regime the existence or absence of ‘civil society’ and the connection between society and political institutions the democratic rules themselves the professionalization of the military the influence of external factors on democratic consolidation. By examining these variables across the three countries, Lauren McLaren narrows the range of possible explanations for differences in democratic consolidation. The book will be of particular interest to students and researchers of European Politics and Democratization Studies.

Constraining Democratic Governance in Southern Europe
Constraining Democratic Governance in Southern Europe

Author: José M. Magone

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Published: 2021-05-28

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 1788111346

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In this thought-provoking book, José M. Magone investigates the growing political, economic and social divisions between the core countries of the European Union and the southern European periphery. He examines the major hindrances that are preventing the four main southern European countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece) from keeping up with the increasing pace of European integration, and the effects that this is having on democratic governance.

Democracy Between Consolidation and Crisis
Democracy Between Consolidation and Crisis

Author: Leonardo Morlino

Publisher: OUP Oxford

Published: 1998-07-02

Total Pages: 406

ISBN-13: 0191521205

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The second half of the twentieth century has witnessed several waves of democratization in Europe, the Americas, and in other regions of the world, such as South East Asia. Although for the most part these democratic regimes are no longer haunted by the prospect of a return to authoritarianism, severe economic and social problems have posed serious challenges, creating a situation where change is often achieved through alternating periods of consolidation and crisis. Drawing on a systematic, empirical analysis of four key Southern European countries, Portugal, Spain, Greece, and Italy, Morlino identifies several key aspects of democratic consolidation: consensus and legitimation, party system and party organization, and the ways in which organized and non-organized interests are related to parties and the institutions of state. The resulting models of consolidation are analysed and the mechanisms and patterns of their unfolding crises identified, taking care to disentangle the pragmatic reactions against the regime, often related to corruption, from more ideological ones grounded in differences in values. Finally, the author addresses the question of the `quality' of democracy, examining how this is related to the outcome of processes of consolidation and crisis. This insightful study offers the first extensive, comparative analysis of consolidation and crisis in these countries, and features a wealth of up-to-date information on party organizations, interest associations, the media, and public opinion. Although clearly focusing on Southern Europe, the author's findings are extremely relevant for understanding the politics of several other regions, including Eastern Europe, Latin America, and South East Asia.

Democracy and the State in the New Southern Europe
Democracy and the State in the New Southern Europe

Author: Richard Gunther

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2006-11-16

Total Pages: 454

ISBN-13: 0199202818

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Analysing the evolution of selected public policies and the changing roles and structure of the state in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain since the 1960s, this volume makes a major contribution to work on democratic regime transition in southern Europe.

Parties, Politics, and Democracy in the New Southern Europe
Parties, Politics, and Democracy in the New Southern Europe

Author: P. Nikiforos Diamandouros

Publisher: JHU Press

Published: 2001-06-11

Total Pages: 500

ISBN-13: 9780801865176

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In the acclaimed Politics of Democratic Consolidation, Nikiforos Diamandouros, Richard Gunther, and their co-authors showed how democratization unfolded in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, culminating in consolidated democratic regimes. This volume continues that analysis, posing the basic question: What kind of democratic politics emerged in those countries? It presents systematic analyses of the basic institutions of government and of the dynamics of electoral competition in the four countries (set in comparative context alongside several other democracies), as well as detailed studies of the evolution of the major parties, their electorates, their ideologies, and their performances in government over the past twenty years. The authors reach two major conclusions. First, the new democracies' salient features are moderation, centripetalism, and the democratization of erstwhile antisystem parties on the Right and Left. Second, no single "Southern European model" has emerged; the systems differ from one another about as much as do the other established democracies of Europe. Contributors: P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, University of Athens • Richard Gunther, Ohio State University • Thomas C. Bruneau, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey • Arend Lijphart, University of California at San Diego • Leonardo Morlino, University of Florence • Risa A. Brooks, Stanford University • José R. Montero, Autonomous University of Madrid • Giacomo Sani, University of Pavia • Paolo Segatti, University of Trieste • Gianfranco Pasquino, University of Bologna • Takis S. Pappas, College Year, Athens • Hans-Jrgen Puhle, Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main • Anna Bosco, University of Trieste

Securing Democracy
Securing Democracy

Author: Geoffrey Pridham

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-01-29

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1317351711

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When this book first published in 1990, several ‘new’ democracies were emerging in Southern Europe. Italy, Portugal, Spain and Greece were generally seen as conforming to the western European model of liberal democracy. But the process of democratization is a gradual one, and each national democracy is moulded by its own political, social, and economic characteristics. In particular, the active role of national political parties is of prime importance. The contributors to this volume focus on party systems in the democracies of Greece, Spain and Portugal since the end of their authoritarian regimes, and on Italy in the post-war period. This title will be of interest to students of politics, European Studies, and development studies.

Building Democracy
Building Democracy

Author: Geoffrey Pridham

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 1997-01-01

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9780718500993

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International factors have had a great effect upon the process of democratisation in Eastern Europe according to the contributors to this book. Furthermore they maintain that the international dimension has not always been a favourable one.

Participatory Democracy in Southern Europe
Participatory Democracy in Southern Europe

Author: Joan Font

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2014-06-05

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1783480750

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Citizen participation is a central component of democratic governance. As participatory schemes have grown in number and gained in social legitimacy over recent years, the research community has analyzed the virtues of participatory policies from several points of view, but usually giving focus to the most successful and well-known grass-roots cases. This book examines a wider range of participatory interventions that have been created or legitimized by central governments, providing original exploration of institutional democratic participatory mechanisms. Looking at a huge variety of subnational examples across Italy, Spain and France, the book interrogates the rich findings of a substantial research project. The authors use quantitative and qualitative methods to compare why these cases of participatory mechanisms have emerged, how they function, and what cultural impact they’ve achieved. This allows highly original insights into why participatory mechanisms work in some places, but not others, and the sorts of choices that organizers of participatory processes have to consider when creating such policies.

Making Democracy Work
Making Democracy Work

Author: Robert D. Putnam

Publisher: Princeton University Press

Published: 1994-05-27

Total Pages: 280

ISBN-13: 9781400820740

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Why do some democratic governments succeed and others fail? In a book that has received attention from policymakers and civic activists in America and around the world, Robert Putnam and his collaborators offer empirical evidence for the importance of "civic community" in developing successful institutions. Their focus is on a unique experiment begun in 1970 when Italy created new governments for each of its regions. After spending two decades analyzing the efficacy of these governments in such fields as agriculture, housing, and health services, they reveal patterns of associationism, trust, and cooperation that facilitate good governance and economic prosperity.