From Legislation to Legitimation: The Role of the Portuguese Parliament

This book is unique as the only book on the Portuguese parliament in English. The Portuguese parliament is a valuable case study to understand the different stages of development of a newly democratic parliament.From Legislation to Legitimationshows that, as democracy developed, the role of the Portuguese parliament changed considerably. Whereas in the first years of democracy theAssembleia da Republicawas centered on its legislative role, during the second decade its legitimation role expanded making scrutiny parliament's main function. Using innovative research techniques - the analysis of voting behavior and of parliamentary debates - Cristina Leston-Bandeira develops Robert Packenham's concept of legitimation and applies it to an empirical analysis of legislative and scrutiny parliamentary activity. These general findings are then applied and verified through a case study: the discussion of the Budget bills from 1985 to 1995. Moreover, Leston-Bandeira includes illuminatingmaterial from interviews with 16 key Portuguese political actors, including the Portuguese Prime Minister from 1985 to 1995, Cavaco Silva. With its extensive and up-to-date empirical evidence, this book makes an important contribution to a more integrated understanding of Portuguese democracy, at the same time as it suggests new lines of research into the development of any newly democratic parliament.

Cristina Leston-Bandeira is a lecturer in legislative studies at the University of Hull.