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"In this innovative study, Dr Ruel explores why political alternation-a bedrock of democratic functioning-has been largely absent in three under-studied regions in Portugal and Spain. Focusing on Madeira, the Azores and the Canary Islands, this book explains how party competition, intra-party democracy and regional economic performance have contributed to political party stasis since the return of democracy in the mid-1970s."
-Paul M. Heywood, Sir Francis Hill Professor of European Politics seconded 0.5 FTE to Global Integrity, Washington DC (2018-21), Faculty of Social Science, University of Nottingham, UK
This book is about political alternation. It's about parties and politicians. It's about power and resources employed to secure longevity in power over time at Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands. This book explores the phenomenon of political alternation through an in-depth contextual understanding of the path of regional historical legaciesat democratization and decentralization processes started in the 1970s; the institutional architectures and the scope of regional authority endowed in those regions; the specific dynamics of regional politics; and the constellation of political parties and actors and the regional elections results, as well as contextual factors that might explain why some political parties have better performances than other at regional elections. Throughout comparative lessons Ruel seeks to highlight the range of factors that affect regional electoral dynamics and outcomes and to develop a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of long-standing incumbency (Azores and Canary Islands) or the absence of political alternation (Madeira) within regional democracies.
List of contents
Part I.- Chapter 1: Setting the scene: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework and Literature Review.- Chapter 3: Mapping the cases - the Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.- Part II.- Chapter 4: Party competition at regional level.- Chapter 5: Intra-party democracy.- Chapter 6: Regional economic performance.- Chapter 7: Conclusions.
About the author
Teresa Ruel is Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Aveiro, Portugal. She received her PhD in Political Science in 2015 from the Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, Portugal. Her main interests are related to topics of territorial politics, regional politics, regional elections in Azores, Madeira and Canary Islands, and the quality of democracy at sub-national levels.
