ABSTRACT
The transformation of the military institution, from within, during the decade extending from 1976 to 1986 is one of the most important components of the Portuguese transition. A new national defense law represented the next step in institutionalizing a democratic regime and redefining civil-military relations. In the highly politicized environment that characterized Portugal, military candidates for public office continued to appear at the behest of civilian politicians. Since the parliamentary Government controlled the purse strings and already had established the fact that they would select the ranking military officials with the concurrence of the president, they were by definition more centrally involved in all other questions of military policy. Portugal has a small peace-time army commensurate with its small size and its need to focus on economic modernization. Compared with Spain, and the level of support given to Portugal in 1983 and before, Portugal has improved its overall position.
