Political Representation and Citizenship in Portugal : From Crisis to Renewal

Representative democracies are facing huge challenges that stem from long trends of citizens’ dissatisfaction and weakening of political legitimacy, on the one hand, and the effects of global economic and financial crisis on electoral alignments and the patterns of government, on the other. This volume uses the Portuguese case as an important case study to examine the long-term debate on the crisis of representative democracies with the attempt to assess the impact of the Great Recession. In particular, this study examines two relevant dimensions, namely citizens’ participation and mobilization, as well as longitudinal evolution of the linkages between voters and MPs, highlighting both continuities and changes. Through a wide and rich data collection and the comparative perspective adopted, this study furthers our understanding of how Portuguese democracy has bounced back and has emerged as a peculiar case among European democracies, especially if we look at innovate democratic practices - at both citizens’ and elites’ level – that have been adopted after the Great Recession. Introduction / Marco Lisi, André Freire and Emmanouil Tsatsanis -- Bridging the gap? : the changing relationship between the socialists and radical left in Portugal / Elisabetta De Giorgi and João Cancela -- Politics in austerity : strategic interactions between social movements and institutional actors in Portugal, 2010-2015 / Guya Accornero and Pedro Ramos Pinto -- Democratic legitimacy and trust in political institutions in Portugal before and after the Great Recession : transitory or lasting effects? / Emmanouil Tsatsanis and Ana Belchior -- Political participation of the young versus old age cohorts before and after the Great Recession : Portugal in a comparative perspective, 2008-2016 / André Freire, Vicente Valentim, Viriato Queiroga and Francisco Graça -- Ideological and policy representation in Portugal before and after the Great Recession, 2008-2017 / André Freire and Augusta Correia -- Gender and political representation before and after the Great Recession, 2008-2017 / Ana Prata, André Freire and Sofia Serra-Silva -- Opening the 'black box' : intra-party cohesion on European integration in Portugal before and after the crisis / Marco Lisi and Vera Ramalhete -- Legislative activities before and after the Great Recession : an analysis of unemployment and social welfare issues / Enrico Borghetto and Marco Lisi -- Conclusions / Marco Lisi, André Freire and Emmanouil Tsatsanis "This volume analyzes key dimensions of political representation and participation in Portugal, examining the impact of the economic crisis on the linkage between voters and elected representatives, contributing to assessing the significant changes that representative democracies have experienced and the factors that may boost their renewal"-- Provided by publisher