ABSTRACT
This book gives a comprehensive analysis of the Portuguese parliament, focusing in particular on the period from 1983 to 1995, that is during its second decade of democracy. The main aim has been to show how a new institution such as the Assembleia da República develops once the troubled years of transition to democracy have been overcome. The few studies that were carried out on the Portuguese parliament centred on its first years when democracy was being established. Centring on the period after 1983, this research was able not only to show how the role of the Assembleia has changed over those 12 years, but also to identify a number of variables which are of particular relevance when analysing a new parliamentary institution.
