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Begin New Search Topic Civil Society Political Geography Portugal

1. Civil Society After Dictatorship: a Comparison of Portugal and Spain, 1970s–1990s

Author:
Tiago Fernandes
Publication Date:
03-2012
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This paper explains variations in patterns of civil society among third-wave democracies by comparing the cases of Portugal and Spain. In the former a civil society developed that had a tendency to be more oriented toward national issues and politics, whereas in the latter civil society tended to be more local, social, and disconnected from politics. Portugal, although having both a less developed economy and historically a weaker democratic tradition than Spain's, was a democracy that between the early 1970s and the mid-1990s offered more opportunities for the organized civic expression of popular interests.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, Government, Human Rights, and Markets
Political Geography:
Europe, Spain, and Portugal

2. Crown, Empire and Nation (1807-1834)

Author:
Miriam H. Pereira
Publication Date:
03-2008
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Institute of European Studies
Abstract:
Before 1807, in Portugal the new liberal ideals had mainly an indirect influence, reflected in the enlightened elite. The wave of a more profound political change came about only in the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the whole Iberian area was involved in the European wide struggle between old regime and the new liberal society and state, that was enhanced by the Napoleonic wars. Between 1807 and 1820, Portugal went through one of the most complex period of its whole History, when the British informal occupation of twelve years, followed the French invasion, short but very destructive. The Crown survived in the hands of the House of Bragança and kept Brazil and the rest of the its colonial territories for over a decade. This makes the Portuguese and Brazilian history of this period somewhat different from that of both Spain and its American colonies. It provides an interesting case for the study of the evolution of three main institutions and political concepts involved in the end of the Old Regime: the Crown, the Empire and the Nation, whose changes during this period are analysed in this paper..
Topic:
Civil Society and History
Political Geography:
United Kingdom, America, Europe, Brazil, South America, and Portugal

3. The 1998 and 2007 Referenda on Abortion in Portugal: Roman Catholicism, Secularization and the Recovery of Traditional Communal Values

Author:
Paul Christopher Manuel and Maurya N. Tollefsen
Publication Date:
01-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
Abstract:
In the thirty-three years since the April 25, 1974, Carnation Revolution, there have been sporadic efforts by progressive forces to legalize abortion in Portugal. This activity has intensified over the past nine years, culminating with two national referenda on the subject, one in 1998 which narrowly affirmed the ban on abortion, and the second in 2007 which allowed for the procedure during the first ten weeks of pregnancy. One reason that the abortion debate in Portugal attracted much interest in the world press was what it would potentially teach about the Roman Catholic Church's contemporary role in Portuguese society. That is, would the Church maintain its traditional influential role over public policy formation in a secularizing Portugal, especially related to its moral teaching? There is some controversy about the type of secularization which is taking place (i.e., Portuguese-style secularization may be of a different sort than that of Northern European countries), but there is little doubt that the Church's ability to define morality for its members has been reduced in recent years. The Church now competes with many secular voices to frame issues such as sexuality, marriage, divorce and abortion. The recent vote to legalize abortion—a move bitterly opposed by the Church—is but one of many examples symbolizing a drift in Portuguese society toward secularization. There was another dimension to the national debate over abortion as well: the pro-choice side successfully harmonized its rhetoric to certain traditional communal values found in Portuguese society—namely compassion, solidarity and support—and, in so doing, forged a recovery of those values.
Topic:
Civil Society and Religion
Political Geography:
Europe and Portugal

4. Reshaping State-Society Relations Democratization in Southern and Eastern Europe

Author:
Rafael Durán
Publication Date:
07-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Kellogg Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This comparative study attempts to analyze differences in populations' behavior during processes of transition from nondemocratic regimes to regimes democratic in intention. The central hypothesis is that the State—as reflected not only in its elites' preferences and strategies but also in its capacities—has to be considered if we are to understand mass behavior, whether transgressive or moderate, and even mass demobilization. The comparison includes two Southern European countries, Portugal and Spain during the mid-seventies, as points of reference and, as the main empirical cases, two Eastern European countries, Hungary and Romania, in which democratization began in 1989.
Topic:
Civil Society and Democratization
Political Geography:
Europe, Romania, Hungary, Spain, and Portugal

5. Observing the 1999 Public Consultation Process in East Timor

Publication Date:
06-2000
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Carter Center
Abstract:
The May 1998 departure of Indonesian President Suharto, following a 32-year dictatorship, raised hopes of independence for East Timor, where some 200,000 people had died since Indonesia's 1975 invasion of the Portuguese colony. In January 1999, Suharto's successor, Bucharuddin Jusuf (B.J.) Habibie, in an effort to appease the East Timorese and international community, suggested that a vote would be held on autonomy with or in- dependence from Indonesia. Details of this referendum were set forward in the May 5 Agreement, signed by Indonesia, Portugal, and the United Nations.
Topic:
Civil Society, Democratization, International Organization, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Indonesia, Portugal, and Timor