Drawing on an analysis of austerity reforms in Greece and Portugal during the sovereign debt crisis from 2009 onwards, we show how the nature of the linkages between parties and citizens shapes party strategies of fiscal retrenchment. We argue that parties which rely to a greater extent on the...

Democracy was once thought to be unconceivable save in terms of party democracy. Yet, It has been extensively argued - both by political comparativists and social theoreticians - that in an age of political dealignment, civil society is a key actor in the context of the crisis of legitimation...