Rethinking the role of the Portuguese Communist Party in the transition to democracy

Lying within the ambit of the theory on transition studies and party development, this article focuses on the political mobilisation and organisational development of the Portuguese Communist Party between 1974 and 1976. Using in-depth interviews and quantitative data, this paper demonstrates that the constraints and the opportunities at the institutional level - particularly with respect to the role of the Armed Forces Movement (MFA - Movimento das Forcas Armadas) are a key element towards achieving an understanding of the party's strategy during the different phases of democratisation. The main conclusions underline two points: the first is the importance of the distribution of power within the MFA in influencing the role played by the PCP in the transition, while the second is the subordination of the social power to the institutional integration.