The recent transition from Francoism to democracy in Spain is remarkable for historical, political, as well as cultural reasons. Historically, the Spanish transition is noteworthy because it is the first time in Spanish history that parliamentary democracy has worked, or been self-sustaining. Politically, the Spanish transition is exemplary, because, while a plethora of countries have recently undergone or are currently undergoing democratic transition, few countries have so successfully transformed themselves from the inside out using consensual strategies. Culturally, the Spanish transition is extraordinary because an effervescent system of shared symbols emerged and became transcendent in a critical historical moment fraught with possibilities of division and conflict.

This emphasis on the phenomenon of the Spanish transition has not been particularly prevalent in the substantive area of democratization. Modernization perspectives minimize the achievement of Spanish democracy by viewing it as “easy” or inevitable, i.e. as simply a process of updating political procedures to fit economic and social “reality.” Rational choice and elite perspectives also minimize the extraordinary nature of the Spanish transition by chalking up the success of the transition to the strategic choices of a few pivotal elites.

As Przeworksi points out, the empirical problem with the modernization perspective is that the liberalization or breakdown of an authoritarian regime does not ensure democracy. History is replete with moments – most recently, in China – in which democratic or capitalistic openings have been abruptly reversed.