Constructing Democracy in Southern Europe: A comparative analysis of Italy, Spain and Turkey

by McLaren; Lauren

• ISBN13: 9780415438193
• ISBN10: 0415438195
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2008-05-14
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

This book offers an introduction to politics in three Southern European countries, providing a comparative case study analysis of why democratization outcomes vary across them. One of the important questions that social scientists continue to struggle to answer is the question of why some countries manage to convert themselves from authoritarian rule to stable, fully functioning democracies and others do not. The three countries chosen for analysis represent a wide array of democratization experiences: Italy, with its slow, uncertain start at democratizing after the Second World War; Spain with its remarkably speedy conversion from a seemingly stable authoritarian to stable democratic regime; and Turkey with its extremely slow and - as of yet - still incomplete democratic transition. In contrast to the different types of outcomes these regimes have all experienced, they have shared many common features. Democratization in Southern Europe examines potential variables, including:problems with stateness, previous experience with democracy, the process of creating constitutions and other important rules, and the structure and functioning of institutions within these countries - with a focus on explaining differences in democratic consolidation and providing an analysis of the likely impact of each.

Table of Contents

List of illustrations
List of abbreviations
Introduction	p. 1
Problems in state building	p. 23
Experiencing the breakdown of democracy	p. 42
Pre-transition economic structures and economic development	p. 63
Constitution building	p. 90
The representation of social and political cleavages	p. 106
The functioning of government: executive and parliament	p. 142
The resolution of regional conflict	p. 172
The professionalization of the military	p. 192
External influences and democratic consolidation	p. 232
Conclusion	p. 255
Research design and case selection	p. 270
Notes	p. 280
References	p. 292
Index	p. 315
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.