"Democratic Quality in Southern Europe makes a valuable and original contribution to scholarly thinking about the processes of democratization within the region, expertly drawing upon original data from the Varieties of Democracy project." —Anthony M. Messina, co-author of Immigration, Security, and the Liberal State"Fernandes and his collaborators provide a sophisticated but accessible blend of argument and evidence explaining political similarities and differences across five polities. Blending historical perspective with mountains of empirical evidence, this collection is a 'must-read' for anyone who seeks to understand the varieties of democracy in Southern Europe." —Nancy Bermeo, coeditor of Mass Politics in Tough Times