ABSTRACT

In studies of the impact of political institutions on conflict management and democratic stability it is most commonly argued that "majoritarian" rules of the game can further polarize divided societies. The Spanish experience indicates that democratic stability in a divided society does not require indefinite adherence to consensual or consociational practices. The origins or determinants of democratic stability are perhaps the most heavily researched questions in comparative politics. The depth of the cleavages present within it is reflected in the intensity of political conflict and the persistence of political instability in the years preceding the installation of its democracy in 1977. The creation of political regimes implies that new institutions are created that will structure subsequent mass and elite behavior. The basic nature of the relationship between institutions and democratic stability is best conceived as one of facilitating or inhibiting certain types of elite behavior.