Table of Contents

1. Southern European Democracies on the Road to Consolidation: A Comparative Assessment of the Role of Political Parties Geoffrey Pridham 2. Part Elites and Democratic Consolidation: Cross-national Comparison of Southern European Experience Gianfranco Pasquino 3. The Consolidation of Democracy in Post War Italy David Hine 4. The Role of the Italian Communist Party in the Consolidation of Parliamentary Democracy in Italy Donald Sassoon 5. Portugal: An Open Verdict Ken Gladdish 6. Regime Consolidation in Spain: Party, State and Society Richard Gillespie 7.From Polarisation to Pluralism: Regional-nationalist Parties in the Process of Democratic Consolidation in Post-Franco Spain Ulrike Liebert 8. Political Parties and Democratic Consolidation in Greece Kevin Featherstone 9. Political Parties and Democratic Consolidation in Greece: To Be or Not to Be Within the European Community Susannah Verney.