This work is a major contribution to comparative politics that many colleagues and friends expected to be the first of many by an outstanding young scholar. The study of Uruguayan politics was put on the map of Latin-American Studies by Charles Gillespie, not only by the present monograph, but by numerous articles and papers in collective books and by the work and enthusiasm he put into organizing a memorable conference on Uruguay at the Wilson Center for Scholars in Washington in 1984. He brought together scholars, intellectuals, and politicians from Uruguay and interested persons from the United States. His influence on the development of political science in that small Southern Cone democracy was enormous.

The present book contributes significantly to the study of transitions from authoritarian regimes to democracy. This theme has attracted more and more intellectual attention, renewed by the changes in Eastern Europe. To date no single monograph on these transitions in South America has been so well researched, providing so much insight into the political development of a country from democracy to authoritarianism and back to democracy. There is no comparable work, not only for any Latin-American country, but also for most countries that have experienced such changes since the seventies. We who work in that subject must turn to Gillespie's contribution. The study combines a wide range of methodological approaches, from historical, institutional, and legal analysis to the use of electoral data and personal interviews.