Spanish & Latin American Transitions to Democracy

This volume, now available in paperback, compares the Spanish and Latin American 'double transitions' to liberal democracy and an open-market economy.

Spains transitions in the 1960s to 1980s have become the paradigmatic case of successful institutional transformation, and thus the standard for the evaluation of the economic and political change in Latin America and Central/Eastern Europe in the 1980s and 1990s.

Even though most Latin American countries have transformed their economies and polities in recent decades, and the outcomes of this transformation have been variable, few of these countries have so far established solid liberal democracies and dynamic open economies. The essays in this book, written by distinguished specialists, examine the different trajectories in Spain and several nations in Latin America, and seek to explain the different outcomes.

In the large recent literature on transitions, this is the first systematic comparison between Spain and the Latin American cases. Taken together, these papers make a powerful argument in favor of the thesis that the outcomes of these transitions are largely determined by the solidity of institutions, governmental ones in particular.

Sustained economic growth requires not only economic liberalization (privatization, de-regulation, and the opening-up of closed economies) but also the rule of law, protection of property rights, effective control of markets in order to preserve competition, solid health and educational systems, and an adequate safety net.

These conditions are necessary for a high-quality democracy.

Without them, free and fair elections and the toleration of dissent are likely to become the facade of what scholars have termed: pseudo-democracy; illiberal democracy; or competitive authoritarianism.