Constitutional Reform and Political Regime in Interwar Portugal. A Challenge for Political Theory

Salazar’s authoritarian regime (1932-1968) represents unquestionably a controversial moment in Europe’s political history. Antonio Salazar is considered either a saviour of interwar Portugal and an exponent of Christian philosophy in politics, or, on the contrary, a dictator of fascist filiation who obstructed his country’s democratic evolution. All disputes aside, it can be stated with certainty that the Portuguese politician was the longest-serving state leader of twentieth century Europe and that his constitutional philosophy is still a challenge for political theory. Was Salazar’s an authoritarian, dictatorial, totalitarian regime or, conversely, can it be considered a sui generis aspect of the Mediterranean political model? Starting from this question, the aim of this article is to analyse the substance of Salazar’s political thought, as well as its reception phenomenon from the viewpoint of Arendtian critique of totalitarianism, and of the model of conceptual history, as theorised by Reinhart Kosellek.