The Iberian legislatures in comparative perspective

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.

The Portuguese Assembleia da República in context / Eunice Goes and Cristina Leston-Bandeira -- The Spanish Parliament in context / Bonnie N. Field and Caroline Gray -- Parliamentary party groups in the Iberian legislatures / Carlos Jalali and Juan Rodríguez Teruel -- Committee systems in Portugal and Spain / Jorge M. Fernandes and Pedro Riera -- Social distance and ideological congruence between MPs and citizens : Iberian legislatures before and after the great recession / André Freire and Xavier Coller -- The diversity gap in the Portuguese and Spanish parliaments : descriptive representation through an intersectional perspective / Ana Espírito-Santo, Tània Verge, and Laura Morales -- Interest groups in the Iberian legislatures / Marco Lisi and Luz Muñoz Marquez -- Iberian citizens' views on their parliaments : support, attitudes on representation, candidate selection and electoral system / José Santana-Pereira and Irene Martín -- The legislative role of Iberian legislatures / Cláudia Ribeiro, Mercedes Araújo and Sónia Rodrigues -- Parliamentary accountability / Manuel Sánchez de Dios -- The participation of the Spanish and the Portuguese parliaments in the activity of the European Union / Elviro Aranda Álvarez and Paulo Sande -- The relationship between regional and national parliaments in Spain and Portugal / Pablo Oñate and Ana M. Belchior -- Constitutional courts and national parliaments in Spain and Portugal / Nuno Garoupa, Joan Solanes Mullor, Teresa Violante.