At a time of growing concern over the fate of contemporary democracy this book shows how vast differences between countries in forms of political conduct, and taken for granted assumptions, determine what democracies actually accomplish. In Democratic Practice, Robert M. Fishman elucidates why some democracies include the economically underprivileged, and cultural others within the circles of political relevance that set policies and the political agenda, whereas others exclude them. On the basis of in-depth research on Portugal and Spain, Fishman develops a theoretically innovative explanation for the breadth of democratic inclusion and draws out large implications for democracies everywhere. Democratic Practice examines the record of two countries that began the worldwide turn to democracy in the 1970s, showing how and why basic assumptions about what democracy is, and how political actors should treat one another, diverged. The book offers detailed empirical evidence on how an inclusive approach to democratic politics provides major benefits not only for the poor and excluded but also for others, drawing large lessons for contemporary democracies.

Robert M. Fishman is CONEX-Marie Curie Professor of Political Science and Sociology at Madrid's Carlos III University. He works on democracy and democratization, social protest movements and political inclusion, culture and politics, and historical approaches to social science. His previous faculty positions were at the University of Notre Dame and at Harvard University.

Preface
Chapter 1. How Democratic Practice Varies by Country: Legacies of Historical Pathways to Democracy
Chapter 2. Messages of Transition: Fundamental Contrasts between Portugal and Spain
Chapter 3. Democratic Practice in Action
Chapter 4. How Democratic Practice Matters
Chapter 5. How the Cultural Frameworks Underpinning Democratic Practice Shaped the Politics of Crisis: Testing the Argument in the Age of Austerity
Chapter 6: Does National Conflict within Spain Undermine or Reinforce the Argument? The Catalan Crisis and its Antecedents
Chapter 7. Change or Continuity in Cultures? Theorizing the Iberian Peninsula Experience
Conclusions: On the Global Significance of the Iberian Divide in Political Inclusion