ABSTRACT
Spain’s transition to democracy following nearly forty years of dictatorship under General Franco has often been lauded as a model example of how to move from an authoritarian to a liberal, pluralist polity. In addition to the extensive academic debate generated since the late 1970s by the transition in Spain, the recent collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union has resulted in considerable political attention being paid to the ‘Spanish model’. 1 Spanish politicians, academics, lawyers and constitutional experts have been much in demand in the former communist bloc, regularly invited to advise and comment upon the formidable political challenges facing the newly democratising countries of east-central Europe. 2
