1998 Portuguese referendums: explaining the results and speculating on the
future of direct democracy in Portugal
[Abstract]
In 1998 Portugal held its first two
national referendums since its democratic transition began in 1974. In
theory, the referendums on liberalizing access to abortion and
instituting a new regional level of governance represented a new
opportunity for civil society groups to make their voices heard on
important issues of the day, thereby revitalizing the quality of the
country's democracy. Instead, most Portuguese voters stayed at home and
the status quo was maintained. Our paper, based on interviews with over
40 national, regional and local-level political elites during 1998,
offers a general overview of the institutional and political context of
both referendums, of the campaign and the results, and it seeks to
explain the role of social structural factors, political parties, and
pressure groups in both abstention and voting choices in the referendums.
These findings are then used as a springboard for some tentative
conclusions about the future of direct democracy in Portugal.
The thematization of the information society in TV advertisements: the
Portuguese and Irish cases
[Abstract]
This article aims to present the
preliminary results of a doctoral research project being currently
undertaken. It is divided into five main parts. First, a brief
presentation of the subject matter of the doctoral research, namely the
thematization of the information society in TV advertisements in
Portugal and Ireland. Second, the rationale for a comparative study
between these two countries will be indicated. Third, the mixed
methodology of the study will be introduced, i.e. content analysis and
semiotics. In the fourth part, the data analysis referring to the first
phase of the empirical study will be presented. Then the article will
end with some final remarks on the future direction of the doctoral
research.
Integralismo Lusitano and Action Française: their
roots and shared principles
[Abstract]
The Portuguese integralist movement,
Integralismo Lusitano, has often been described as little more than a
derivative copy of its French peer, Action Française. This paper seeks
to examine three important elements of both movements' ideology - their
nationalism, their support for monarchism and their promotion of
corporatism - in an attempt to determine whether these claims are valid.
By comparing the writings and actions of both movements' leaderships, it
is possible to conclude that the similarities between these movements
were, for the most part, more apparent than real.
Aspects of Portugal's economic development during
the late Estado Novo
[Abstract]
This article focuses on the progress
of the Portuguese economy under Salazar's successor, Marcello Caetano
(1968-74). It examines some of its chief features of economic
development in this period, noting that change was often double-edged
and created new problems and challenges. Eventually, the direction of
the economy became another issue that divided the supporters of the
dictatorship as the international crisis triggered by the oil price
rises imposed by OPEC in 1973 blew the regime's economic strategy off
course. It is argued here that, while it was not the principal reason
for Caetano's demise, the state of the economy did play a significant
part in weakening the regime's foundations.
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