Portugal in the 21st Century provides a thorough yet accessible picture of contemporary Portugal in the first two decades of the twenty-first century. It examines and elucidates Portugal’s recent trajectory, its current position, and the main challenges it faces through an examination of the principal dimensions of cultural, economic, political, and social development in the country. Bringing together some of the foremost Portuguese experts in each of these areas, it draws on a diverse knowledge across the social sciences and humanities – including anthropologists, art historians, economists, historians, legal scholars, literary scholars, political scientists, biologists, and sociologists – to create a multidimensional portrait of contemporary Portuguese society.

Key features:Organised into nine substantive chapters – each of which covers a major area of Portugal’s contemporary existence – from its national identity and political system to its economy, scientific, literary, and artistic production. Opens with a general introduction providing historical context, and a chapter on Portuguese national identity. Thematic chapters focus on social, political, economic, and cultural developments of the last two decades.

This book provides a comprehensive, erudite yet accessible introduction to contemporary Portugal and is essential reading for students, scholars, and readers interested in Portugal, Portuguese and Southern European politics and culture, Iberian, or Iberian-American studies and more broadly to European and Comparative Politics.