From Authoritarianism to democracy: Spain, Portugal and Greece

1
From Authoritarianism to democracy Spain,
Portugal and Greece
Lecture 16
I. The interwar period how democracies turned
into dictatorships Character and setting of
regimes Conditions of collapse II. The post-war
(?) period how dictatorships turned into
democracies Democratization
2
Objectives

• Objectives (i) to understand the pressures
  (internal and external) leading to the collapse
  of the authoritarian regimes (ii) to grasp
  processes of democratic transition.

3
Turbulent politics in 1920s
General Franco 1892-1975

• Spain after constitutional crisis, monarchy was
  abandoned and newly established republic
  overthrown by Franco
• Portugal military coup after political
  instability
• Greece fights between monarchists, republicans
  and army

• Salazar
• 1889-1970

G. Papadopulos 1919-1999
4
Authoritarian Regimes

• Portugal 1926 1974
• Salazar 1926/32 1968
• Caentano 1968 1974
• Spain 1936/39 1975
• Franco Falangists
• Greece 1936-1974
• Metaxas 1936-41
• 1941-44 German Occupation, puppet regime
• 1946-49 Civil War 19671974
• Papadopoulos
• (Ioannidis)

5
Commonalities

• Experience of democratic government short-lived
• Authoritarian regimes established under
  conditions of economic and political crisis
• Not fascist, although similar in rhetoric and
  outlook
• Anti-socialist/anti-communist
• Essentially long-wave counter-revolutionary
  phenomenon (ODonnell)

6
Commonalities II

• Long tradition of mass exclusion
• No real popular representation in parliament
• Class domination in army, administration and
  church
• Governed in the interests of dominant groups
  industrialists, large landowners, bourgeoisie

7
Commonalities III

• Popular opposition (unions, peasant
  organizations, students, left-wing parties)
  banned
• Each regime associated with single charismatic
  figure
• Leaders had close relationship to army
• Relative international isolation

8
Ideology

• Extreme nationalism and conservatism
• Great influence of religion and church
  (Integralism)
• E/P in conjunction with Catholicism (Franco rule
  by grace of god)
• Greece with army, seen as embodiment of the
  spirit of ancient Athens
• Anti-communist E/P Gr extreme anti-communist
  as sole ideological justification

9
Civil society

• i. e. institutions with capacity to resist
  regimes - only weakly developed
• Church major pillar of regimes in E/P
• Failure of political parties and party systems
• Unions fragmented, lacking support
• Parliaments powerless (rubber-stamp)
• Elections without opposition parties

10
Economies

• E/P weak agricultural economies
• Missed out industrialization in the 19th century
• But Economic Miracle in Spain in the 1960s
• Autarkic economic policies (sealed off from
  international trade in 1950s)
• Greece different beginnings of industrial
  development after 1945/49
• Dual economy large primary and small secondary
  sector

11
Collapse of the authoritarian regimes

• Portugal
• April 1974 - Army coup
• - Armed Forces Movement (MFA)
• 1974 1976 - political turbulence
• 1976 - constitutional agreement
• Spain
• November 1975 - death of Franco
• King Juan Carlos Suarez
• December 1978 - constitution
• Greece
• 20 July 1974 - Turkish invasion of Cyprus
  after Colonel- sponsored coup
• 23/24July 1974 - Karamanlis (PM)
• December 1974 - constitution

12
Reasons for regime collapse

• Regimes had run into insurmountable problems
• Economic inclusion of working class in order to
  trigger economic growth
• Social inclusion of working class triggers
  political demands
• Administration need for expansion in
  administration triggered expansion of education
  (universities)
• Ideology nationalism vs. state interdependence
  religion vs. secularization tradition vs.
  extensive economic and social transformation
• Military Post-Colonial war (P)
• Elites split (P/E)
• Popular discontent (Gr)

13
Democratic transition and consolidation
Lieutenant-Colonel Antonio Tejero Molinas
attempt of a coup detat in the Spanish Congress
in 1981.
14
Democratic transition

• Similarities responsible that the three countries
  are treated as all of a piece
• Relatively rapid transition period
• Newly established liberal-democratic order
• Democratic regime imposed from above not by
  popular movements (but Gr)
• Resistance of bourgeois elements to include lower
  classes into the political system
• Relatively early moment of political legitimacy
  (i.e. government by a party not involved in
  establishing new regime)
• Economic and political stability through EU/EC
  membership (1981/86)
• A Mediterranean model of democracy?

15
SOUTHERN POLITICAL MODEL
16
SOUTHERN POLITICAL MODEL
17
SOUTHERN POLITICAL MODEL
18
Spain 1974-2009

• Prime Ministers
• 1976-81 Suárez González (Union of
  Democratic Center, UCD)
• 1981-82 Calvo Sotelo y Bustelo (UCD)
• 1982-96 González (Spanish Socialist Workers'
  Party, PSOE)
• 1996-04 Aznar (People's Party, PP)
• 2004/2008 Zapatero (PSOE)

19
Spain - regionalization

• 1978 constitution ambiguous about the process by
  which regions could secure autonomy and what
  powers the regions would have
• Basques and Catalans terrorist-separatist
  campaigns
• Madrid granted strong form of regional
  self-government (17 regions) but rejected
  independence
• In theory, standardized devolution process
  brought Spain on its way to a federal structure
• But degree of autonomy still varies considerably

20
Spain - parties

• 1977 during transition period some 300 parties
  stood for election (many regional parties)
• Four party system emerged immediately
• Popular Alliance/Popular Party (cons.)
  Democratic Centre Union (UCD) Socialists (PSOE)
  Communists
• In the beginning, electorate showed a
  centre-right bias
• Since 1982, Socialists have emerged as dominant
  party
• Turned into a 2-block then even 2-party system in
  1990s
• Small parties with strong ethno-linguistic
  approach
• No relevant extreme right

21
Portugal 1975-2009
Presidents 1975-86 Eanes (ex-army,
PRD) 1986-96 Soares (PSP) 1996 Sampaio
(PSP) 2006 Silva (PSD) Prime
Ministers 1975-78 Soares (Socialist Party, PS)
1978-80 da Costa, da Mota Pinto, de Lourdes
Pintassilgo (non-partisan) 1980- Lumbrales
de Sá Carneiro, Balsemão (PSD) 1983 Soares
(Socialist Party, PS) 1985 Aníbal Cavaco Silva
(PSD) 1995 de Oliveira (Socialist Party,
PS) 2002 Barroso, Santana 2004 (PSD) 2005 José
Sócrates (PS)
22
Portugal transition 1975

• Power distribution unclear between president, PM
  and Council of the Revolution
• Guaranteeing democratic institutions and ensuring
  the spirit of the revolution were not easily
  compatible
• Army retained privileged status and was expected
  to ensure transition to democracy
• Something armies are normally not good at

23
Portugal transition 1976-82

• 1976-82
• Political tensions and turmoil
• Unstable coalitions
• 1982 constitutional revisions
• Revolutionary Council abolished
• Presidential powers curtailed
• References to socialism removed
• Since 1982
• Conventional parliamentary system of government
• Army and communists marginalized
• Membership in European Communities (1986)

24
Portugal party system

• Some 15 parties active in the political arena
• System in flux
• 1976 4-party system
• 1980 3-party system
• 1987 5-party system
• General pattern
• 3 major parties (Communists, Socialists, Social
  Democrats)
• 1-2 minor parties for coalition building

25
Greece 1974-2008

• Presidents
• 1974-75 Stasinopoulos (ND)
• 1975-80 Tsatsos (ND)
• 1980-85 Karamanlis (ND)
• 1985 Alevras (Pasok)
• 1985-90 Sartzetakis (no affiliation but
  support from Pasok)
• 1990-95 Karamanlis (ND)
• 1995-05 Stephanopoulos (former ND, no
  affiliation, backed by P)
• 2005 Papoulias (Pasok)

26
Greece 1974-2008

• Prime Ministers
• 1975-80 Karamanlis (ND)
• 1980-81 Rallis (ND)
• 1981-89 Papandreou (Pasok)
• 1989-90 grand coalitions (NDPasokKKE)
• 1990-93 Mitsotakis (ND)
• 1993-96 Papandreou (Pasok)
• 1996-04 Simitis (Pasok)
• 2004/07 Karamanlis (ND)

27
Greece party system

• Some 20 parties
• Basically 2-party system
• Straight left-right contest
• Communists important small party, SYN LAOS
• KKE split between KKE interior and KKE exterior
  for years, recently split even further
• Crisis since 1989 financial scandals, personal
  scandals (Papandreous health and wife)
• Simitis government rather stable
• Recent (2008) wave of unrest and protest against
  conservative government

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Ideological Trajectories

• Spain started with a bias towards the right and
  consensual politics has moved steadily to the
  left and more confrontational politics
  alternation
• Portugal started with a strong revolutionary
  thrust to the left has moved steadily to the
  right alternation
• Greece started with a strong conservative
  focus, then drifted towards the left alternation

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Moments of Legitimacy

• Anti-System Forces Spain - army golpistas
  Portugal - army communists Greece - KKE
• Spain
• 1981 army coup attempt (Tejero shooting in
  Congress, Juan Carlos ordered army back to
  barracks
• 1982 election victory by socialists (Civil War
  cause), army stayed calm, alternation accepted
• Portugal
• 1986 election of Soares to Presidency
  (alternation in presidency ended army privileged
  route to presidency won by the left but not the
  communists)
• Greece
• 1981 PASOK election victory (no army
  intervention)
• 1985 PASOK used communist support to unseat
  president and to limit presidential powers
  Karamanlis DID NOT dissolve the parliament and
  resigned

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Evaluation

• Greece, Portugal and Spain share despite
  different national histories similar features
  with regard to their political system
• Recent authoritarian regimes
• Very new liberal democratic order with strong
  influence of socialist parties
• Peripheral status in WE economic order

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Evaluation

• Dualist socio-economic life, i.e. many modern
  features alongside strong traditional elements
  (religion, emancipation)
• Democratization same features in different
  political directions
• Not really one single Mediterranean model of
  politics
• Consolidation successful, also because of
  European integration, EURO
• political stability achieved through inclusion of
  former authoritarian forces