Economic development and political transition in Taiwan and Spain: A comparative analysis from a European perspective

Abstract

Taiwan in the late 80s and Spain in the second half of the 70s are two examples of gradual drive from an authoritarian regime to a democratic system. In both cases, political transition was the long-term result of high economic growth and rapid social change achieved in the previous decades. Another analogy is that the trend toward democracy was initiated and stimulated from within the authoritarian regime, with no major break in the statu quo.