Portugal: the challenges of democratisation

Abstract

Being a 'third-wave' democracy, Portugal shares similarities with South­ern European countries such as Spain, Greece and Italy. After 48 years of dictatorship, Portugal initiated the democratisation of its politics and the media in the mid-1970s. Like other third-wave democracies, Portugal had to cope with a legacy of clientelism, weak middle classes and low civic par­ticipation, strong influence by the Catholic Church and a politicised public service broadcaster. This chapter demonstrates, however, that the specifics of each country should be taken into consideration if one wishes to under­stand present-day media systems, citizens' (dis)engagement with public life and political and economic changes. The authors attempt to shed light on the current characteristics and challenges of the Portuguese media system, including fast technological and economic changes as well as the continuing societal and post-colonial legacies.