A he political transition in Spain provides a rare opportunity to monitor popular attitudes toward alternative regimes. Through the analysis of national surveys conducted in 1978, 1979-80, and 1984, we first establish that the Spanish public distinguishes not only between successive governments-the Franquist and the center-right and socialist governments of the post-Franco period-but also between Francoism and democracy as political systems. Second, we show that during the post-Franco era the criteria of legitimacy have begun to shift from formal political to social democratic values. These analytical results are achieved by comparing standard with less orthodox measures of political legitimacy and performance, and by revising conventional theories of system support. Third, we estimate the determinants of support for and opposition to the two regimes. The Franquist system remains more polarizing than does the democratic system; the constituencies of the democratic regime are considerably broader and more heterogeneous. However, while the new democratic state is comparatively inclusive and autonomous, low rates of political participation and changes in traditional socialist ideology have made the institutional bases of legitimacy ambiguous.Opain's break entangle support for government incumwith authoritarianism since the death of bents-the authorities of the hour-from Franco in 1975 has been substantial and commitment to the presumably more on occasion dramatic. The democratic basic regime or political system. The sucregime has survived the onslaughts of cession of governments gives us a chance regional separatists and of reactionaries in to distinguish between Francoism and the military. How legitimate, then, is the democracy. 1 new political system? The transfer of A primary objective of our study is to power from a center-right party, the determine whether the split between Union of the Democratic Center (UCD), Francoism and democracy holds up in the to the center-left socialists (PSOE) that perceptions of Spaniards themselves, took place in the general elections of 1982 After the euphoria of the early days of the makes it possible, in principle, to dis-transition, the citizenry may have settled
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