ABSTRACT
This comprehensive book analyses the development of the legislatures in the Iberian countries over the past 40 years, since democracy was introduced, to comparatively understand their role in these political systems and in sustaining their democratic systems.
Sharing many historical developments and institutional characteristics, Spain and Portugal also present crucial differences, notably Spain’s pure parliamentary system, a King as Head of State and a quasi-federal structure, and Portugal’s semi-presidential democracy. Starting with a historical and institutional contextualization of these two legislatures, the book examines the most important organizational and behavioural features of legislative life in Iberian legislatures in a comparative perspective. It also shows how new legislatures develop resilience capacity to support lasting democratic systems as fully fledged institutionalized bodies.
This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of Spain and Portugal, legislative politics and parliamentarianism, and more broadly to European politics and comparative politics, journalists and practitioners.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part Section I|42 pages
Historical background
part Section II|42 pages
Internal organisation structures
part Section III|76 pages
Representation and actors
chapter 6|22 pages
Social distance and ideological congruence between MPs and citizens
chapter 7|19 pages
The diversity gap in the Portuguese and Spanish parliaments
part Section IV|38 pages
Legislative processes
part Section V|60 pages
Relations with other bodies