In The Politics of Democratic Consolidation, a distinguished group of internationally recognized scholars focus on four nations of Southern Europe--Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Greece--which have successfully consolidated their democratic regimes. Contributors are P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, Richard Gunther, Hans-Jurgen Puhle, Edward Malefakis, Juan J. Linz, Alfred Stepan, Felipe Aguero, Geoffrey Pridham, Sidney Tarrow, Leonardo Morlino, Jose R. Montero, Gianfranco Pasquino, and Philippe C. Schmitter.

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...