From Consensual to Complex Multi-level Democracy: The Contours of Contestation and Collaboration in Spain
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14422/cir.i01.y2014.004Keywords:
transition to democracy, modes of transition, political parties, interparty relations, SpainAbstract
Spain has used the consensual and ultimately successful transition to democracy in its public diplomacy efforts. However, the early democratization literature was divided on the benefits of consensual transitions. This article reflects on prominent hypotheses in the democratization literature regarding how transition processes (modes) affect subsequent democratic politics, particularly focusing on how the mode of transition could affect the competitiveness of interparty relations in parliament. Rather than being explained by the transition process, interparty relations in Spain can, in part, be explained by the parties’ adaptation to the electoral and institutional environment, which have both evolved over Spain’s recent democratic history.
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